Beating American Christopher Eubanks in the quarterfinals in a five-set duel, For the first time in his career, Daniil Medvedev reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Prior to this tournament, his best achievement on the grass «Grand Slam» was the fourth round. Many experts have argued that Medvedev is good on hard, and clay and grass are not his surfaces.
Contrasting judgments first came up two years ago when Medvedev won his first grass title in Mallorca. In the semi-finals of the ATP 250 tournament, Daniil defeated then the Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta, and in the final — the American Sam Querrey. Everyone, without exception, noticed that Medvedev «pumped» the first serve and the first blow after it. These are key factors for successful playing on grass.
In addition, experts noted that the balls after Daniil's flat shots bounce low and create big problems for the opponents. The trump cards that bring victories on grass also included Medvedev's ability to dribble from awkward positions and turn off opponents near the net, as well as a technique that gave him chances for breaks. Two years ago, the Russian tennis player's arsenal became diverse and well adapted to playing on grass.
Last season could have been a turning point. Medvedev was good on the grass. He reached the finals at tournaments in Hertogenbosch and Halle. Moreover, it was clear that Daniel could add more if necessary. Only he, like other Russian tennis players, was not allowed to Wimbledon.
Medvedev started this season on grass with difficulty. The Russian could not defend the rating points won a year earlier. In 's-Hertogenbosch, in the second round, he lost to the Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, and in Halle in the quarterfinals — to the Spaniard Roberto Bautista-Agut. All the more surprising is the transformation of the strongest rated Russian tennis player to date at the Grand Slam tournament. Including for himself.
“I haven’t picked up the key to the grass yet, as happened this year with the ground,” Medvedev admitted at a press conference after winning the first round match over Briton Arthur Fury. “It’s not even about the results. After Monte Carlo and Madrid, I felt progress It doesn't feel like that on grass.»
As Medvedev admitted when he first started playing grass tournaments (this was on the «Challengers» and the secondary courts of Wimbledon), the surface was faster, and the ball slid more. Relatives, as Daniel joked, flat blows brought a lot of benefits. The central courts of Wimbledon, which are now assigned matches with the participation of the third racket of the tournament, seem to him very slow. Only the serve flies quickly.
According to Daniil, on such grass it is better to use twisted shots than flat ones. It was for this reason that he noted: «I am still looking for my game, and Wimbledon is the best tournament where I can show myself.»
So far, the Russian tennis player is doing well. Although it must be admitted that he has not had any top rivals yet. In the first round, Medvedev easily dealt with Feri, who received a wild card, who now occupies a place in the fourth hundred of the rating, then defeated Mannarino, albeit inconvenient for himself, but noticeably inferior in class. The first small test gave Daniil the Hungarian Marton Fucovich in the third round. He even won the set. The Russian tennis player received a ticket to the quarterfinals on the refusal of the Czech Jiri Legechka.
Here Eubanks in the quarterfinals forced Medvedev to work hard. On the eve of Wimbledon, the American won the title in Mallorca and, by his own admission, felt confident in his abilities. He deprived Wimbledon of the opportunity to watch the next duel of «sworn friends», knocking out of the tournament in the fourth round «seeded» under the fifth number and included in the list of favorites Stefanos Tsitsipas. During the quarter-final match, Christopher led in sets — 2:1, and Medvedev took the fourth game in a tie-break. Only in the fifth set, the advantage of the favorite was not in doubt.
In the semi-finals, Medvedev will face world number one Carlos Alcaraz. This will be a really serious test. The Spaniard is also extremely motivated. To maintain leadership in the rankings, he must definitely go further at Wimbledon than Novak Djokovic does. The Serb also made it to the semi-finals and is determined to defend the title he won a year ago, for which he did not receive rating points.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.