Daniil Medvedev turns to Novak inside him to reach the Australian Open semi-finals | Australian Open

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For two long hours, Daniil Medvedev’s shoulders were slouched bitterly during the Grand Slam quarter-final that he entered as the favorites. He struggled with his serve, double-faulted key points, and as his frustration grew, he spent long periods simulating Felix Auger-Aliassime’s prolonged grunt during exchanges. When his opponent started so brilliantly, it seemed at times that he’d rather be anywhere else in the world than Rod Laver Arena.

But even then when he fell by two sets to Auger-Aliassime and his presence in the tournament had moments of collapse, this is the aura he’s created for himself over the past year, it never seemed to end. With time running out in Melbourne after midnight, Medvedev completed his recovery in two sets and saved match point when he defeated Auger Aliassime 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2) 7-5, 6-4 in four hours 42 Minutes to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.

This is only the second time in Medvedev’s life, a career spanning eight years, that he has recovered from two late sets to win a Grand Slam match. The result of Medvedev’s recovery is that he will revive an old rivalry in the semi-finals where he faces fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, after Tsitsipas played a great match and defeated Yannick Sener 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 earlier. .

In the immediate aftermath of the match, when Medvedev was asked how he managed to win on the ground, he could not help but ignore this. “I have no idea,” he said. “Are you talking about match point? I managed to serve well. If it’s a second serve, we’ll never know what’s going to happen. We’re talking about [whole] Match, you know, it’s funny. This Lacoste bag, usually comes with a lot of clothes. just in case [I have] Six shirts, two shoes, whatever. It’s full, and it’s hard to even squeeze it. Now, it is empty. That’s how that match was.”

After that, Medvedev said he drew inspiration for his comeback from an unexpected source: “I don’t really know what to do, so I was like, actually, ‘I don’t know if people would like it but I thought, ‘What is Novak going to do?'” When sections of the audience booed at the mention of the number 1, Medvedev indicated his intentions to make life as difficult as possible for his opponent to the end.

Standing in front of Medvedev, Auger-Aliassime often talked about his growing maturity and the confidence flowing through him and attacked the match in exactly this way. From the start, the 21-year-old Canadian was sharp and focused. He served very well and attacked a forehand behind her, but he also played a much more thoughtful game than in the past. In the first two sets, he surprisingly won most of the middle and long rallies as he made a two-set lead.

Felix Auger-Aliassime during his quarter-final defeat to Daniil Medvedev. Photo: Dean Lowes/EPA

But with the defeat a step away, Medvedev slowly became a more focused and dangerous version of himself in the third set. He improved his comeback, cut errors out of his game and finally began to impose himself on the games of the Auger-Aliassime service. Auger-Aliassime only served excellently to reach the tiebreak, but after a rain delay and a roof pause, it felt cold on restart. While spraying errors in his forehands, Medvedev slipped a group.

By the fourth set, Medvedev was making mistakes from his opponent almost every time the rallies crossed four points while Auger-Aliassime relied on the quality of his serve. And in the fifth set, Auger-Aliassime had his chances, especially after scoring a double break point and then wasting his second serve in his opening match. Medvedev did incredibly well when he really needed it and pulled for himself one of the most brutal victories of his young career.

Medvedev said that while he is trying to recover and be in good shape for the semi-finals, he is also thinking about the legends that preceded him: “Looking for the best, they somehow managed to do it. I don’t know how. But they were able to do it. So if I was I want to be a part of this group, even if I’m really far away [from them] Right now, I want to try to make it happen.”

As Medvedev looked at the matter, Auger-Aliassime was left to face a bitter defeat. His performance was a reminder of his resilience and the constant improvements he continues to make. He faced the reality of his loss with exemplary maturity: “I wish I could go back and change it, but I can’t.” He said. “So, you know, I’ve already accepted it. That is what it is. I look at it in a very positive way.”

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