Daniil Medvedev survived a roller-coaster battle against world No.1 Jannik Sinner to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon for a second year running.
The Russian battled his way to a 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 1-6, 6-3, victory after four hours of play on Center Court. Midway through the third set, there were concerns that Sinner might retire after he called for the physio for a blood pressure check and looked dizzy when he briefly left the court. Nevertheless, he continued playing but came up short against Medvedev in what was the first meeting between two top-five players in this year’s draw.
“I knew if I wanted to beat Jannik it would be a tough match. I felt at one moment he wasn’t feeling good and then he started playing better. I am happy I managed to stay high level, I am happy to win.” Said Medvedev.
“It’s very tough, one moment he didn’t move very well so it is always tricky as you want to play more points to make him suffer more but you know at one point he will say I can’t run anymore so he went full power.“
The 12th instalment of the Sinner-Medvedev rivalry began with a nail-biting 59-minute opening set with little to separate them. The first 12 games saw no breaks with Sinner impressively winning 24 out of his first 29 service points played. Medvedev also held his ground on the court, winning 25 out of his first 36 service points.
Heading into a roller-coaster tiebreak, Sinner found himself in trouble early on after a forehand error enabled the Russian to move ahead 3-1. He clawed his way back before another blip at 5-5 saw him hit a double fault to hand his opponent a set point. However, Medvedev failed to capitalise before it was his turn to produce a fatal double fault a couple of points later that handed the Italian the opener.
All the hard work produced by the top seed came undone early in the second frame when there was a noticeable dip in his intensity on the court – opening the door for Medvedev to break for the first time and level the match.
Sinner’s problems mounted further due to a health scare. Just three games into the third set, play was halted for the physio to come and take his blood pressure. He then left the court and was visibly dizzy. However, when he returned he continued fighting by trying to shorten points with the use of drop shots. He managed to regain the break to level at 5-5 but came up short in the tiebreaker as Medvedev edged his way to a set-set lead.
Closing the match out was a tricky task for the fifth seed, who was blown away in the fourth frame before coming back inthe decider by breaking once en route to victory. It is the ninth time Medvedev has reached a major semi-final in his career.
“It’s my first time winning two matches on Centre Court at Wimbledon,” he said of his run this year.
“Usually I would either win one or zero so this is a record already.”
Medvedev’s victory is a case of sweet revenge for him after losing to the Italian earlier this year in the Australian Open final where he won the first two sets. He has now won five out of his last six five-set matches played. At Wimbledon, he is only the sixth active player on the men’s Tour to reach the last four on multiple occasions.
He will play either Carlos Alcaraz or Tommy Paul for a place in the final.
