Australian Open: Daniil Medvedev - In the style of Novak Djokovic in the semifinals
Daniil Medvedev just pulled his head out of the noose in the Australian Open quarterfinals against Felix Auger-Aliassime - and was reminiscent of the 20-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Jan 26, 2022, 04:04 pm
Top favorite Daniil Medvedev still has the chance of his second major win in a row: In the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, however, the 25-year-old had to put all his class on the pitch to avert an end to Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian found a match point when the score was 5: 4 in the fourth set, but Medvedev knew how to fend it off with a service winner - and went around 75 minutes later as 6: 7 (4), 3: 6, 7: 6 (2) , 7:5 and 6:4 winners off the field.
In an on-court interview, Medvedev stated that he had "no idea" how he was able to turn the game around. The Russian borrowed a bit after the 0: 2 set deficit but with the current world number one Novak Djokovic: "I then asked myself what Novak would do now." "Or Rafa or Roger," added the reigning US Open champion in the face of some boos from the audience.
Medvedev hardened in sentence five
In concrete terms, this meant for Medvedev after the messed up start to the match: "I thought to myself: Okay, I'll fight to the last point." The 25-year-old did the same, in the last set alone he fended off all six breakballs from his opponent, who played well. Medvedev, on the other hand, used his only opportunity.
Not only these statistics show that Medvedev acted more calmly than Auger-Aliassime in the important phases of the game. A skill that Djokic in particular had distinguished in recent years. On hard court, Medvedev is already on the same level as the Serb - and mentally the Russian is also gradually approaching the industry leader.
Auger-Aliassime leaves Australia with her head held high
In the semifinals, Medvedev will now face Stefanos Tsitsipas. The second in the world rankings leads 6: 2 against the Greek in a direct comparison, the two met in Melbourne last year. With the much better end for Medvedev.
So while Medvedev's dream lives on, Auger-Aliassime has suffered what is arguably the most bitter defeat of his young career. But the 21-year-old didn't want to blame himself too much: "I wish I could go back and change it, but I can't. I've already accepted it. I'm looking at it very positively. I'll leave Australia with my head held high and with Going into the rest of the season knowing I can play well against the best players in the world."
To the men's individual tableau
laver arena