Almost no one believed in Daniil before the match with the Spaniard.
Daniil Medvedev, thanks to two victories in the group stage, early won a ticket to the semi-finals of the ATP 2023 Final Tournament. Before the start of the playoff stage, the Russian still has a match against Carlos Alcaraz, who needs victory like air.
However, Alcaraz will be motivated not only by the fight for the semifinals, but also by the thirst for revenge. One more defeat from a Russian – and the young Spaniard could easily catch Medvedev’s complex and become a client of our tennis player.
Alcaraz hinted at this even after the lost semi-final of the US Open 2023. The Spaniard admitted that the Russian’s victory hit his self-esteem hard, because he considered himself the best tennis player.
Alcaraz is an absolute favorite
At that tournament, Medvedev confidently reached the semi-finals, collecting praise from experts along the way. However, everyone quickly forgot about the tennis player’s past achievements when Alcaraz stood in his way. Experts unanimously insisted that the 20-year-old Spaniard would win this confrontation.
The Spaniard’s desire to defend the title and pleasant statistics of personal meetings spoke in favor of the Spaniard. The Russian, sharing the court with Alcaraz for the first time, won, but then lost to him twice in 2023. Moreover, in those two matches, including the Wimbledon semi-final, Alcaraz did not give up a set to his opponent.
— Against Alcaraz, Medvedev will be an absolute outsider. He is well aware of this. Journalists rated his performance highly throughout the tournament – 10/10. And then they asked him: what level would it take to beat Alcaraz? His answer? 11/10,” wrote Tumaini Carayol of The Guardian.
Alcaraz’s victory looked like the most likely outcome of the semi-final. And all the analytics about the future match gave way to complementary articles in honor of the young Spaniard.
– Alcaraz is playing the best tennis of his career and could well leave the tournament having won his second US Open title in a row. Medvedev looked like he was physically tired in the quarterfinals. It won’t get any easier against Alcaraz,” wrote Eric Beeston.
However, Medvedev himself stated that nothing is impossible on the court.
— In tennis you can always beat any player. People are beating Novak. People even beat Rafa on clay, which is almost impossible, but some players manage to do it. The same can be said about Carlos,” Medvedev said before the semifinals.
Sensational victory
The match itself began with a stubborn struggle in the first set. At the same time, at some point there was a smell of scandal: Medvedev complained to the judge on the tower that a spotlight or one of the fans was shining in his face. However, these troubles did not prevent him from taking the first set. But then Alcaraz rallied, began to live up to the forecasts and won in the second set. True, this did not affect Medvedev’s morale in any way.
“There were a few points that I lost, but after the next time I said to myself: “Wow, I hit some balls that were really tough.” This means I can do the same next time. Perhaps either he will miss, or I will be able to strike better,” Medvedev commented on his game.
Alcaraz continued to chew his way into the finals, but faced fierce resistance, which he, it seems, did not expect.
“When I serve and volley, he always finds something to answer. In a way, this is surprising,” Alcaraz commented on the game.
After Medvedev took the third set, the Spaniard began to seethe and use any methods to turn the tide of the match. Alcaraz even addressed his compatriots who were present at the match. They were enough to cause Medvedev significant discomfort.
— There were about a thousand Spanish fans in the stands who shouted in the decisive game between innings. It wasn’t pretty, but they seemed to feel the agony,” Medvedev recalled.
However, the crowd of Spaniards and Mexicans did not help Alcaraz stop Medvedev. The Russian sensationally won the match and received the right to compete for the title. And after the meeting, Medvedev ironically commented on the screams of the Spanish fans.
“Now they can go to bed,” Medvedev joked.
For Alcaraz, this defeat was a real blow to his pride.
“I thought that right now I’m the better player and I can find solutions when the match is not going in the direction I want.” But after this meeting I changed my mind. “I’m not mature enough to handle these types of matches,” Carlos said.
Now the Spaniard will do everything to take revenge from Medvedev, otherwise the Russian will gain a psychological advantage over Alcaraz for many years to come.
Ayla Tomljanovic [WC] – 6:2, 6:0
