Daniil Medvedev says he is ‘playing well’ ahead of the first Grand Slam of 2023 after booking his place in the semi-finals of the Adelaide International on Friday.
The former world No.1 dropped just six games during his 6-3, 6-3, win over compatriot Karen Khachanov who is currently ranked 20th in the world. Dropping his serve only once, Medvedev broke his opponent four times and fire six aces en route to victory. The wins follow up on his straight sets triumph over Miomir Kecmanović in the first round.
“It’s never easy to play your compatriot,” Medvedev said in an on-court interview.
“I’m happy that I managed to really raise my level, especially in the end of both sets, and really happy to be through to the semis.”
According to ATP data, former world No.8 Khachanov has now suffered 22 consecutive losses against top-10 players on the Tour since 2019. Coincidentally his losing streak began against Medvedev at the 2019 Montreal Masters.
Meanwhile, Medvedev appears to be gaining momentum on the Tour ahead of the Australian Open which will begin on January 16th. Last year he came agonisingly close to winning the title after leading Rafael Nadal by two sets in the final before losing in five. The former US Open champion was also runner-up to Novak Djokovic at Melbourne Park in 2021.
It remains to be seen if the 26-year-old can go one better this year and win his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
“For sure I played well last year and I’m playing well right now,” Medvedev said.
“To be honest, that’s all that matters – in order to win a slam or be in the final you have to be at your best for seven matches.
“I managed to do it once and I was really close last year, and that’s what I’m going to try to do again in a few weeks in Melbourne.”
Medvedev is the third seed in Adelaide this week and will play either Novak Djokovic or Denis Shapovalov in the last four on Saturday. He is bidding to win only his second Tour title on Australian soil and his first since the 2018 Sydney International.
In the other section of the draw, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka was engaged in a fiery argument with the umpire during his match against Alexei Popyrin before winning 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (8-10) 6-2. The world No.36 blasted a call during the opening set when a forehand of his was called out and then deemed in by a hawk-eye challenge. However, Christian Rask called for the point to be replayed because the ‘out’ call hindered Popyrin. Something that infuriated Nishioka who demanded to speak to the tournament supervisor.
Nishioka will next play Sebastian Korda who defeated Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-1.
