He had lost the first two sets, his morale was low and he was one point away from bowing out in the Australian Open quarterfinals. That was when Daniil Medvedev posed the question: What would Novak have done?
Good question. After all, world number one Novak Djokovic has won the Australian event nine times and last year fell one win short of monopolizing all four Grand Slam titles.
Inspired by the 20-big champion, Medvedev set the goal early on Thursday that Felix Auger-Aliassime had to squeeze for every point.
More than an hour after saving a match point on serve in the fourth set, the reigning US Open champion claimed a 6-7 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (2), 7 victory. -5, 6-4 to access the semifinals. The Russian’s comeback ended almost half an hour after midnight.
“He was playing at a level that was crazy, I mean I’ve never seen him play like that. It was a fantastic thing,” Medvedev said. “I had run out of heart in the third set.”
Medvedev mentioned Djokovic as a role model when being interviewed on court and at the press conference afterward. It wasn’t a joke.
“I wasn’t playing well, and Felix had me on the ropes,” said the Russian. “I did not know what to do. That’s when I wondered what Novak would have done.”
“There I thought I had to put him to work more. If he wants to win, let him suffer until the last point”, he added.
Medvedev will have to recover soon to face Stefanos Tsitsipas, the French Open runner-up, on Friday. They will repeat their semifinal match at Melbourne Park. Medvedev emerged victorious in that instance last year but fell in the final to Djokovic, who was unable to retain his title this month for failing to abide by the Australian government’s strict requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Tsitsipas (seeded 4th) had no major shocks to advance to the semifinals. The Greek dispatched 11th seed Jannik Sinner of Italy 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Both quarterfinal matches in the men’s draw were interrupted by rain.
Medvedev capitalized on a six-minute break with the score 2-1 in the third-set tiebreaker to allow Rod Laver to close the roof of the arena, plugging himself into the match.
Auger-Aliassime won just one of the last six points in the tiebreak after dominating the first two sets. The 21-year-old Canadian wasted a match ball off Medvedev’s serve in the 10th game of the fourth set.
Medvedev neutralized it with a powerful open first serve and held serve with a smash.
He broke Auger-Aliassime’s serve in the next game and held his own to level the match at 2-2 in sets. He scored another break when his opponent double faulted in the third game of the deciding set.
But there was for more.
Serving for the win, Medvedev had to save two break points — he saved six of six in the set and nine of 11 in the entire match — before putting an end to it.
After a 4 hour and 42 minute battle, Medvedev is two wins away from becoming the first man in the open era to win his second Grand Slam title in the next tournament after his first.
It is a statistic that he was not aware of, but now it motivates him more in his search for the title.
“If it’s true, then it will be historic,” said the number two in the ranking. “It will be perfect”.
Auger-Aliassime had lost all three of their previous meetings with Medvedev, including the US Open semifinals in September.
But he was the aggressor in the early sets, unsettling Medvedev with his powerful forehand, speed and athletic display.
“I wish I could go back and change it, but I can’t,” Auger-Aliassime said of the result. “I already accepted it. I am leaving Australia with my head held high and I can face the rest of the season knowing that I can beat the best in the world”.
Another who may benefit from Djokovic’s absence is Rafael Nadal.
The 35-year-old Spaniard, on the hunt for a 21st Grand Slam crown to break the tie with Djokovic and Roger Federer at the top of the all-time table, will face Matteo Berrettini — runner-up at last Wimbledon — in the other semifinal.
Tsitsipas, for his part, maintained his perfect record in the quarterfinals of the big events. He is 5-0 his record at that stage. It is the semifinals that are still resisting him, since for the moment he has won one of four, last year at Roland Garros.
Tsitsipas did not face any break points and converted all four he had on Sinner’s serve, in a match of just over two hours.
The only delay came from the weather, when a late storm forced the roof to close with the Greek already up a set and a break.
“I knew it was going in the right direction,” Tsitsipas said. “Conditions might have changed a bit after the roof closed, slightly quicker, not bouncing as much as before. I tried to adapt to the new conditions and it just worked out.”
The temperature dropped from the afternoon highs, when Poland’s Iga Swiatek required three hours in the heat to beat 36-year-old Estonian Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-3 for a place in the semifinals against Danielle Collins.
Collins defeated France’s Alizé Cornet 7-5, 6-1.
Collins’ win means two Americans will rock the semifinals. Madison Keys, the 2017 US Open runner-up, will face Ash Barty, the Australian star who triumphed at Wimbledon last year.
Both women’s semifinals will be played on Thursday.
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