Medvedev beats Zverev and will play against Sinner in Australian final

The Russian player became the thirteenth player of the Open Era and the fourth active tennis player to reach the final for the third time in this ‘major’ tournament. Her Four comebacks in two sets at the Grand Slam, three corresponding to this tournament and two to this edition. He had already done this in the second round against Finnish Emil Ruusuvuori. He previously achieved this against Croatia’s Marin Cilic at Wimbledon (third round, 2021) and against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the 2022 Australian Open quarterfinals.

“Neither of us played well in the first set, I improved in the second set but he was very good. In the third set I wanted to give it my all and be proud of myself.and I finally found a way to come back,” said a smiling Medvedev, who after the end of the shootout ordered silence in a part of the stadium that had booed him at different parts of the match.

It’s going to happen Medvedev’s sixth Grand Slam finalHe has a major title against Serbian Novak Djokovic (1) at Flushing Meadows in 2021.

Both tennis players more risk than usual Because they came to the semi-final match physically weakened as a result of the two five-set matches they played on the way to this match. While Zverev retreated to the locker room after his limping victory over Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (2) in the quarter-finals, Medvedev reassured himself in the press conference after his five-set clash with Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz that he was particularly strong physically.

A high duel

Service seemed like a key height duelBetween two tennis players who are close to two meters tall. The German player was the most successful at serving, although his success dropped significantly compared to the match against the Spaniards, where he had a near-perfect performance with 85% serve.

The first set featured five breaks.A real rollercoaster that wowed the Australian public, who took advantage of this festive Friday to attend the second semi-final en masse at the Rod Laver Arena. Zverev had the last word after winning a magnificent game in which 51 hits were scored at the service of the Muscovites.

The Russian player, who was a finalist in the 2021 and 2022 series, could not solve his service problem in the second set and took the German’s fifth break opportunity in this set (3-2). Zverev did not slow down and took his punishment After signing a new ‘break’ against Medvedev, who spent six minutes in the locker room changing his clothes and getting excited for a change of dynamic.

This long pause served him well and increased his percentage on the first serve, which helped him survive the third round. He trailed his Russian rival by a foot and a halfbut saved two break points in the third game of the third set; Unlike the first two, both tennis players continued to serve in all games. The third seed rejoined the match after winning the tiebreaker 7-4.

The same scenario was repeated in the fourth manga.However, there was a worse end for the Hamburg player, who spent the 5-4 advantage in the tiebreak with the serve and lost 7-5.

Zverev in free fall

After the end of the second set, Medvedev went to the locker room with a threatening facial expression. A collapsed ZverevHe preferred to wait on the track until his opponent returned. The resilience he showed in the quarter-final match against Alcaraz and against the Russian in the first two sets gave way to an air of anger after he took a break after making two simple errors.

German hit the net with his racket and after missing the forehand volley as intended, he released the hook that attached the net to the court surface. Medvedev, in his bravest form, did not give up the advantage he held until the last 6-4.

With this victory, the Moscow tennis player took a 12-7 lead head-to-head with Zverev after winning six of the last seven matches.

The Russians will face the young Sinner in the grand final this Sundayexecutioner of Serbian Novak Djokovic, with whom he continues a positive face-to-face (6-3) despite falling in the last three matches.