Second-week serenity! Medvedev relishing another deep run at Australian Open

On the court, Daniil Medvedev’s latest step forward at the Australian Open was anything but smooth sailing. Off the court, the third-seeded semi-finalist is just entering his comfort zone.

The No 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings needed five sets to see off the challenge of Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday afternoon to reach his third Australian Open semi-final in the space of three years. Now set for a last-four clash against Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev, Medvedev is relishing being at the business end of another fortnight at Melbourne Park.

“I always like the ending of the tournaments, because maybe my first or second final on the ATP Tour, you're like, 'Wow, it's strange, there's always so many people [on the tournament site] in the beginning and then it's so quiet'. On Grand Slams, it's even more strange.

“But after two or three finals, I got used to it, and I'm like actually, it’s the best feeling. You know if there is almost no one left in the tournament, that means you've done a great job. There's no one to disturb you, it's just you, so go try to win it.

“I like this feeling. Hopefully I can be here on Sunday.”

The marathon man does it again! 👏@DaniilMedwed is through to the semi-finals in Melbourne for the third time! 🔥 @AustralianOpen | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/a1vksGG41L

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 24, 2024

Medvedev crucially converted four of nine break points he earned in his quarter-final win, according to Infosys Stats. The 27-year-old acknowledged that being clinical on return was the key to him drawing level at 3-3 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Hurkacz.

“[It was] tough,” reflected Medvedev. “I knew how Hubi can play, and in my opinion, he played quite well today. I felt like the games, almost all of them, probably except 2-0 in the first set, I felt like every game I had a small chance, I managed to take it. So really, really happy and proud about that, because with him you don't get many chances.

“[I] played a little bit better on my serve. I don't know why, but my serve doesn't bother Hubi as much as other players. I feel other players probably don't really like me to play. I serve aces, they don't break me a lot. Hubi returns almost every one of my serves. Tough matchup, but that makes me even happier to win and be in the semis.”

Medvedev will take on Alcaraz or Zverev on Friday night inside Rod Laver Arena. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner will resume their rivalry earlier in the day in the other semi-final and, while emphasising his only focus was his own semi-final matchup, Medvedev acknowledged he hoped to tune in to see which of his Top 5 rivals makes it to the championship match.

“The thing is Jannik is playing so good now, so if I'm 100 per cent honest with you, if you ask me who — let's say I'm in the final — who do I want to play: Novak, who never lost here [after the quarter-finals] and is going for some crazy stats, or Jannik who is not losing a set even when he's 1/5 down in a tie-break and stuff like this, I don't know,” said Medvedev. “I really don't know. I want them to go seven hours, 30 minutes, tie-break 30-28 in the fifth, and then maybe let's see if they are a little bit tired on Sunday.

“I think it's going to be a great match. I'm really going to enjoy it as much as I can. I'm going to prepare for my match, but if I have some time to watch, I'm going to enjoy it. They had a great rivalry at the end of last season with Turin and at the Davis Cup, so I’m really going to enjoy it and let's see who wins.”