January 28, (THEWILL) – In the second Australian Open semi-final on the Rod Laver Arena, Daniil Medvedev defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5) 4-6 6-4 6-1, to set up a thrilling final versus Rafael Nadal.
The match got off to a tense start, with neither player conceding a point on serve until the fifth game. Even then, it was just by chance, as Medvedev hit the net cord, only for the ball to bounce around and land on Tsitsipas’ side, leaving him holding his hands up in apology.
Tsitsipas attempted to confound his opponent with a succession of deft drop shots, which he did successfully. At 1-1, he won a superb point by drawing Medvedev in at full stretch and backhand volleying him.
When the world number four drew Medvedev into long rallies, he was able to dominate the pace, but his opponent’s service game was nearly flawless. At 6-6, the Russian only dropped his first game on serve, which boded well for the tie-break, while Tsitsipas was forced to defend four breakpoints at 4-4 after an unexpected burst from his opponent.
Tsitsipas took advantage of the early break, but Medvedev countered with one of his own. With an arrow shot down the line, he gained set point, and a lengthy rally finished with his opponent putting a return narrowly wide, ending a tight first set in Medvedev’s favour.
Medvedev dropped a string of points in his opening service game in the second set, giving Tsitsipas an immediate chance to break. He took it in stride, pushing and tugging Medvedev around the court before sprinting to the net and smashing a winner out of reach of his opponent.
Tsitsipas defended three break points only to give up a fourth at deuce with a tiny miss, and Medvedev broke back to make it 3-3. Medvedev won, his opponent visibly winded.
Just as it appeared that Medvedev may take control of the match, Tsitsipas took advantage of a couple of massive misses, especially a rare double fault from Medvedev allowing him to serve for the set, which he did convincingly despite the world number two’s best attempts.
As Medvedev boiled, Tsitsipas ecstatically celebrated the decisive point. During the break, he vented his displeasure on umpire Jaume Campistol, who did not caution Tsitsipas, shouting: “Oh my god! Oh my god! You are so bad, man! My god, how can you be so bad in a semi-final of a Grand Slam? Look at me! I am talking to you!”
Medvedev entered the third set with steely determination, having let off some steam. He restored his concentration on serve while making life difficult for Tsitsipas, waiting for the ideal moment at 5-4 before striking with precision to break Tsitsipas emphatically.
Medvedev broke twice in a one-sided fourth set to seal his place in the final. Aside from his rage outbursts, it was a brilliantly poised performance that confirmed his position as the tournament favourite.
In his post-match comments, the Russian admitted that it had been “very even” up until the third set. “I feel like, in a few moments, I maybe missed some balls where I could have got a break, he missed a few in the beginning of the third set, and then, starting from 5-4 in the third, I just found some momentum and something in the eyes to try to read his serve,” he said.
“I tried to put every ball in and made a few very important passing shots. His energy went down because of this, especially after the third set, and my energy was going up. I think it would have gone up even more if the match had continued.”
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
