On the moral and strong-willed: how Medvedev bounced back from a score of 0: 2 in the match with Auger-Aliassime and reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open

Feat Medvedev

On paper, Daniil Medvedev should not have experienced any serious problems in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.

So far, he has met Felix Auger-Aliassime twice and has more than convincingly taken over him.

And if at the US Open-2021 the Canadian tried to fight throughout the meeting, then at the ATP Cup he was only enough for the first set, and in the second he got the "steering wheel".

Only the health problems that tormented him during the confrontation with Maxim Cressy could cause a little wariness and doubts about Medvedev's success.

The Russian felt uncomfortable and was forced to take a medical break, but subsequently returned to the game.

Initially, it was reported that the cause was lower back pain, but the athlete himself clarified the situation.

“I had to run forward a lot after tricks, when he shortened from the summer.

Therefore, the buttock hurt a little.

He then had the same thing, which is ridiculous ... Nothing serious, a day of rest is always enough to heal such things.

And it will cause inconvenience - there are painkillers, ”Medvedev told Eurosport.

Already in the debut of the meeting, it became clear that the Russian did not succeed in finally recovering.

He appeared on the court with a tape on his left thigh and was clearly experiencing discomfort when moving and serving.

Perhaps because of the damage, he couldn't hit the square as consistently as usual.

Already in the opening game, he made three double faults, two of them at a key moment - in a tie-break.

Medvedev found himself in the role of a catch-up and for the first time lost a set to Auger-Aliassime.

After that, the Canadian began to act even more confidently. In the first set, even without regard to Daniil, he demonstrated high-level tennis and was extremely stable, while constantly putting pressure on the Russian. But in the second, he completely caught the courage. On his serve, Auger-Aliassime was practically invulnerable - in 83% of cases he hit the first ball, won 20 out of 24 points and did not allow Medvedev to earn a single break point. Tense jokes also remained with Felix. During one of them, he performed a smash in a high jump, thanks to which he recalled his basketball past.

Medvedev, on the other hand, gradually began to make more and more claims to the judge and, in an aggressive manner, shout something out to his coach Gilles Servar.

It is difficult to say whether he did it on purpose, as in the confrontation with Cressy, or could not contain his emotions.

But it didn't do any good.

The second installment also remained with Auger-Aliassime, and the current Australian Open finalist was on the verge of relegation.

It seemed that only a medical break could help Medvedev bring down his opponent's mood a little, and also get a break.

But the reigning US Open champion did not resort to such tricks.

However, he managed to recover a little and begin to act more confidently both on the pitch and on the reception.

But to earn a break did not work.

Auger-Aliassime continued to play unusually stable, although he slightly eased the pressure.

Everything again came to a tie-break, in which Medvedev's prospects seemed vague.

But first he took a point at the reception, and then the Australian weather came to his aid.

It rained at the Rod Laver Arena, causing the match to be suspended.

This pause was enough for the Russian to gain strength and win the next five draws out of six.

And take the party with them.

The fourth set was not much different from the previous one.

Medvedev pulled up the percentage of serving and began to take his games a little less confidently than Auger-Aliassime.

But this continued until the very end.

First, the Russian earned a break point, but the Canadian hit the first ball irresistibly several times, and then Daniil himself repeated the same thing.

True, it was much more difficult for him from a psychological point of view, because all this happened on match points.

Only after that, Medvedev managed to lead with a break for the first time.

Four unforced errors on his pitch put Auger-Aliassime in a difficult situation, from which he has not got out.

The Russian came out to submit for the game and, although not without problems, he put the squeeze on the Canadian.

To do this, he needed four set points and another, 14th ace in the match.

Two lost sets in a row could not but affect the psychological state of Auger-Aliassime.

First of all, this was reflected in the stability of the feed.

The percentage of hitting the first ball dropped from 70% to 57%, and even problems with the ankle began.

Medvedev took advantage of this very quickly.

Yes, at first he himself had to play three break points in the second game, but in the next he took the first chance and pulled ahead.

Subsequently, Medvedev more than once ruffled the nerves of his fans.

At first, he almost allowed Auger-Aliassime to restore parity in the eighth game, and by filing for the match, he gave the Canadian two more chances.

True, he later took them himself.

The Russian spent 4 hours 38 minutes on the court and made the brightest comeback - 6:7 (4:7), 3:6, 7:6 (7:2), 7:5, 6:4.

Confidence of Tsitsipas

Without unnecessary nerves, Stefanos Tsitsipas made his way to the next stage, for whom the Australian Open is becoming one of his favorite Grand Slam tournaments.

Previously, he had twice reached the semi-finals of the competition in Melbourne, but so far he could not overcome this barrier.

Moreover, he lost exclusively to those who subsequently remained one step away from the trophy.

In 2019, the Greek was weaker than Rafael Nadal, and two years later, Medvedev.

This time, Tsitsipas will approach the semi-finals in a much better condition than a year ago.

Then the match with Medvedev was preceded by a five-set duel with the same Nadal lasting more than four hours.

This time, it took him less than two to deal with Yannick Sinner.

The Italian could not oppose anything at the reception and only once managed to take more than two draws per game.

As a result, the tenth racket of the world did not earn a single break point, while he himself allowed the opponent to convert four - 3:6, 4:6, 2:6.

Tsitsipas reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam tournament for the fifth time in his career, which was a huge achievement for him, given recent events.

Two months ago, he underwent surgery on his elbow and at first did not hope that he would be able to perform in Melbourne.

It was these predictions that the doctor gave, but the Greek was able to prove that he was wrong.

Remake of the semi-finals of the

US Open-2019

Rafael Nadal and Matteo Berrettini will compete for the second ticket to the final.

And if the first continues to fight for the title of the greatest tennis player in history, then the second will try to take a step towards the first victory at TBSh.

In 2021, the Italian firmly established himself in the elite, but so far only once reached the final of the Major - at last year's Wimbledon.

True, then he was very lucky with the grid.

Until the meeting with Novak Djokovic, he did not cross with any representative of the top 10 ATP rankings.

At the same time, Nadal's duel with Berretini is curious for another reason.

Previously, they shared the court only once - at the victorious US Open-2019 for Rafa, and on the eve of their face-to-face confrontation, Matteo defeated Gael Monfils in five sets.

In Melbourne, everything was repeated to the nearest comma.

The Italian again survived the hardest battle with the French and went to the Spaniard.

The only question is whether he will be able to repeat the result and again crush the opponent in three games.

If he succeeds, then Nadal will reach the final of the Grand Slam tournament for the 29th time and will come closer to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in this indicator.

The Serb and the Swiss have reached the decisive match 31 times, and won 20 of them.

Rafael has a higher percentage of wins - 20:8.

Failed sensation

In the women's tournament, all participants in the semi-finals will also be determined.

The company of the irresistible Ashleigh Barty and Madison Keys was Daniel Collins and Iga Sviontek.

And if the American practically did not notice the resistance from Alize Cornet, then the Pole was one step away from defeat.

Kaia Kanepi came close to shocking Australian fans once again and, at 36, reached her first Grand Slam semi-final.

In the first installment, Kanepi took the opponent's serve and kept hers, winning back four break points along the way.

In the second, it was more difficult - the Estonian was inferior with a score of 1: 4, but was able to restore parity and bring the matter to a tie-break.

There she was killed by her own inaccuracy.

Six unforced errors helped Sviontek get a comfortable advantage and level the position in sets.

The decisive game was remembered for an incredible number of breaks. For two, the rivals managed to take their own serve only three times, and none of them won even half the points. But if Sviontek was stronger at least in every second draw on her serve, then Kanepi's indicators turned out to be noticeably lower (39%). The Polish woman succeeded four times at the reception and for the second time in her career reached the semi-finals of the Major. Previously, she succeeded at Roland Garros in 2020.

Despite the bright comeback, Barty remains the main favorite of the Australian Open.

The hostess for the second time reached the semi-finals of the home TBSH, rolling over her opponents.

The first racket of the world lost a total of 17 games, and this despite the fact that she met far from the last tennis players.

In the early stages, she dealt with Camila Giorgi and Amanda Anisimova, and in the quarterfinals she defeated the 21st seeded Jessica Pegula - 6:2, 6:0. 

Hope in pairs and chances for juniors

As for the rest of the Russians, Veronika Kudermetova continues to fight for the trophy in pairs.

Together with Elise Mertens, they reached the semi-finals, having easily defeated Kirsten Flipkens and Sara Sorribes Tormo in the previous round.

It took them two sets and less than an hour and a half to do it.

They took the serve of their opponents four times and, in general, looked much more confident in the draws, winning 56% of all points.

For reaching the final, they will compete with the first seed - the Czechs Barbora Kreychikova and Kateryna Sinyakova.

They have not yet lost a single game in Melbourne, as befits the main favorites of the competition.

If successful, they will not only get closer to a fourth victory at TBSH, but will also avenge last year's failure at the Australian Open.

In 2021, they lost in the final to Mertens paired with Arina Sobolenko.

The Russians remained in junior tournaments.

In the men's singles, Yaroslav Demin reached the quarterfinals, who will have to fight with the fourth seeded Yakub Menshik.

And Diana Schneider beats in the women's.

One of the main favorites of the competition will play with the Belgian Sofia Kostoulas.