In a five-set battle that lasted exactly four hours, Daniel Medvedev beat world number one Jannik Sinner to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals. Today's best Russian tennis player repeated last year's achievement on the grass Grand Slam.
Medvedev does not hide the fact that his favorite surface is fast hard. Daniil doesn’t like clay, even despite winning the first Masters title on this surface last season in Rome. What Medvedev is capable of on such a specific surface as grass is a mystery to the vast majority of experts, not to mention fans.
Last season, Medvedev showed his best result at Wimbledon, reaching the semi-finals. One step before the title match, he was eliminated, losing outright to the future champion, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. At the current tournament, Daniil’s play did not give the impression of being a champion, but it also did not give rise to derogatory criticism.
The Russian tennis player reached the fourth round confidently, but at this stage he was lucky. Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov started the match very confidently, leading with a break — 3:0, but then suffered a painful injury when landing on the grass. He couldn’t even really move around the court and, without waiting for the end of the first set, he withdrew from the competition. Medvedev reached the quarterfinals with virtually no effort.
And there he was waiting for a meeting with the first racket of the world, Jannik Sinner, whom most experts considered the main contender for the title. This did not bother Medvedev. “If I’m not mistaken, statistically I usually play better against the top rackets than against other players,” Daniil said after winning the quarterfinals. “We’ll see if this helps me against Yannick.”
For a long time, Sinner was considered a convenient opponent for Medvedev, but since last year's ATP 500 tournament in Beijing, everything has changed. Sinner won his first head-to-head victory in the capital of China and after that went into matches against the Russian tennis player confident in his abilities. At the ATP Final Tournament in Turin, choosing a semi-final opponent after two victories in the group tournament, Medvedev chose to play Sinner rather than Novak Djokovic — and lost to the future champion.
In the final of the Australian Open, the Russian tennis player led in straight sets — 2:0, and in the second he could have sent a cross to the Italian. Only instead he allowed Sinner to soak up the score, return to the game and win three games in a row. But these matches took place on Medvedev’s favorite hard court!
Anna Kalinskaya, whose romance with Sinner is now the focus of attention of British tabloids and sports sites, came to cheer for her lover at the quarterfinal match. The Russian tennis player ended her performance at Wimbledon very disappointingly, withdrawing from the tournament after the first set in the fourth round match against Elena Rybakina representing Kazakhstan. Now Anna was left with the role of a cheerleader.
The first set of the quarterfinal match was tough. Neither player managed to take the other's serve. In the tie-break, Medvedev had a set point after Sinner's double fault, but he did not take advantage of his chance. In tennis, the rule known to football fans also applies: after Daniil's double fault, the set remained with Yannick.
Only in the third game of the second set was the first break recorded. It was a success for Medvedev. After this, the Russian tennis player had to hold his serve. The score for the games was equal. And in the third set, Medvedev managed to make a break in the third game. After this, Sinner made Kalinskaya and all his other fans worry. He first called the doctor onto the court and then left it.
After his opponent returned, Medvedev broke his serve. It was not the world's first racket's plans to withdraw from the tournament. With the score 5:4, the Russian tennis player served for the set, but allowed the Italian to break. The fate of the game was again decided in a tiebreaker, but this time in a kind of tennis penalty shootout, luck smiled on Medvedev. He finished the shortened game with a spectacular ace into the corner.
It looked like the third games in this match were break games. And in the fourth game, one of the tennis players managed to take someone else’s serve. This time to Sinner. There was a decline in the Russian tennis player's play, and the Italian took the next serve from someone else. Having received such an advantage, Jannik easily brought the game to victory and leveled the score in sets.
Grand Slam tournamentsWimbledon ATP09 July 2024 • starts at 15:40FinishedJannick SinnerItaly2: 37:64:66:76:23:6Daniil MedvedevRussia
< br>After this, Medvedev went to the room under the stands. In the fateful third game of this match, the Russian tennis player served — and did not tempt fate. He closed it with a spectacular ace. In the next game, Medvedev made a break. After that, Sinner literally grabbed his opponent's serve with his teeth. The referees recorded the score “even” for five times, but Medvedev did not allow the Italian to reach a break point.
This effectively ended the fight in the match. Both opponents easily took their serves, and Medvedev brought the match to victory, securing a ticket to the semi-finals.