Daniil Medvedev has breezed into the semi-finals of the Australian Open after brushing aside compatriot Andrey Rublev in straight sets on the Rod Laver Arena.
The fourth seed rallied his way to a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1, win over the world No.8 on what was a humid day in Melbourne Park. Medvedev’s defensive play was on full show throughout the clash as a lacklustre Rublev struggled at times to control his unforced error count. Overall he produced a total of 30 winners and broke six times throughout the two-hour match. As for Rublev, who was physically struggling during the closing stages, he leaked a costly 39 errors.
“I think my game matches his quite well. I have known him for a long time, so I know how to neutralise his amazing big shots. That was definitely one of the best matches I have played. Not only lately but last year too,” Medvedev said following his win.
“This match was really unbelievable because he was playing really good and I managed to beat him in three sets without a tiebreak. I’m really happy about it.”
The all-Russian encounter was the fourth time the two have clashed on the Tour and the second in a Grand Slam quarter-final after the US Open last year. Medvedev, who is yet to lose to Rublev, had to overcome an early scare in their latest match after falling behind 2-4 in the opening set. Despite the blip, he broke back with ease thanks to some costly errors coming from across the court before levelling up once again. The world No.4 struck again at the business end of the set with an elevation in his intensity on the court. Leading 6-5, a forehand winner gave him three set points against the Rublev serve. He prevailed on his first thanks to another error from his opponent.
Medvedev continued to weather the storm as he contended with some sublime defensive play from his compatriot. Both players were sternly tested on their serve throughout the second frame but once again it was the highest ranked Russian who came out on top. A tentative Rublev forehand crashing into the net rewarded Medvedev another break for a 5-3 lead before he closed it out with a love service game that concluded with an ace.
Closing in on a place in his third Grand Slam semi-final and first at the Australian Open, Medvedev continued to dominate his rapidly weary looking rival who started to seriously struggle with both the conditions and Medvedev’s intensity. A four-game winning streak in the third set moved him within touching distance of victory. Admirable Rublev kept fighting but it was too little too late as Medvedev sealed the win on his first match point before unexpectedly having some media treatment on court straight after.
“I went to the bench for the last game of the match and I started cramping in my quad. I knew he (Roblev) was too but I had to not show it,” Medvedev explained.
“I managed to make some big serves. I blocked completely during the three last points (of the match) and I could not move my left leg. It wasn’t easy but I’m happy I won the game.”
Medvedev has now recorded 11 consecutive wins over top 10 players on the Tour since falling to Dominic Thiem at the US Open last year. He will next play either Rafael Nadal or Stefanos Tsitsipas in what he hopes will be much cooler conditions following his latest experience.
“It’s super tough because if you come to Australia and it is plus-forty everyday it is not easy, for sure, but you get used to it. But we have usually had days when it’s 20 degrees maximum and it is not that hot,” he said.
“In the quarter-finals against Andrey we had some unbelievable rallies but after some points it was tough to breathe.”
Medvedev leads Tsitsipas 5-1 in their head-to-head but trails Nadal 1-3.
