Australian Open: Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas to meet in semifinals
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 27, 2022 Russia’s Daniil Medvedev celebrates winning his quarter final match against Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime REUTERS/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake
No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia and No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece will meet in the semifinals of the Australian Open in Melbourne on Thursday.
No. 6 seed Rafael Nadal of Spain and No. 7 Matteo Berrettini will battle in the other pairing.
Article continues after this advertisementMedvedev and Tsitsipas won their quarterfinal matches in very different fashions of the season’s first Grand Slam event.
Medvedev dropped behind by two sets, rallied and survived a match point in his 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-4 marathon win against Canadian No. 9 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in four hours and 41 minutes.
It was just the second time in his career that the World No. 2 overcame a two-sets-to-love deficit. The other time was at Wimbledon last year against Croatia’s Marin Cilic.
Article continues after this advertisementIn the fourth set, Medvedev saved a match point trailing 4-5, 30/40 with a powerful first serve.
“I was not playing my best and Felix was playing unbelievably,” Medvedev said after improving to 4-0 in his career against Auger-Aliassime. “(He was) serving unbelievably, he was all over me. I did not really know what to do, but I told myself, I am going to make him work and fight until the last point. I managed to raise my level. When they closed the roof I felt the momentum change, that I could hit through the court better.”
Tennis – Australian Open – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 26, 2022 Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrates winning his quarter final match against Italy’s Jannik Sinner REUTERS/Morgan Sette
Medvedev finished with 15 aces, 49 winners and 53 unforced errors, and saved nine of 11 break points. Auger-Aliassime tallied 18 aces, 64 winners and 75 unforced errors. Each player won exactly 182 points.
Tsitsipas and No. 11 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy only played 144 points in their quarterfinal clash, with Tsitsipas winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in just under two hours.
Tsitsipas converted all four break chances and never faced a break point, finishing with 30 winners and 20 errors.
“Jannik is a very good player. So I tried to focus on my best shots and it paid off more than I thought,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “I am very, very happy with the way I served today and the way I came in and used my tactics in today’s match structure. Having the crowd support is truly unbelievable.”
Medvedev owns a 6-2 head-to-head record against Tsitsipas, however Tsitsipas won the last meeting in straight sets in the quarterfinals at the 2021 French Open.
