Daniil Medvedev reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open for the third time in the last four years. In two previous cases, the Russian reached the final, which was very encouraging.

However, Alexander Zverev showed breathtaking tennis against Carlos Alcaraz and proved that nothing is impossible for him now. The start of the match is a cold sweat for all Russian fans.

But Medvedev would not be himself if a disastrous start had not been followed by a fantastic transformation.

There is another Grand Slam final for our tennis player!

Heroic Set

Our tennis player had a slight advantage before this match. Zverev played in the semi-finals of the majors five times and won only one victory. Of Dani’s seven attempts to reach the final, only two were unsuccessful. However, this hardly had anything to do with the current draw. Zverev, who had finally recovered from his injury, butchered Alcaraz in the quarterfinals so easily that Danya was afraid. And for good reason.

The match started depressingly for Medvedev. In two games on the German’s serve, Daniil managed to win only one rally. At the same time, Medvedev himself hit doubles, which helped Zverev make two breaks and lead with a huge advantage over his serve: 4:1.

It seemed that this party could not be saved, but Daniel suddenly woke up. Zverev temporarily lost his first serve, which his opponent took advantage of. Just a couple of games ago it was hard to believe that our compatriot would make a break in this set.

Daniil Medvedev / Photo: © Daniel Pockett / Freelancer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

It’s amazing how quickly the game changed the script. Now the Russian, like an octopus, clung to every blow and forced Zverev to play marathon rallies of 30-35 blows, and some of them reached 50 blows.

With the score 3:4 on the German’s serve, our tennis player had the score “exactly”, but failed to win the game. We had to wait for the next chance, which Medvedev received when Zverev was already serving for the set. A single break point was enough to make it 5-5. Fantastic set!

Unfortunately, the fate of the game was ultimately decided by the grid. Zverev made the third break by touching the ball on the rope, and then was able to serve for the set the second time – 7:5.

Alarming course of events

Zverev was willing to endure long exchanges of blows and, unlike Dani, showed an excellent percentage of first serve hits. This was the small but advantage of the German. Therefore, in the fifth game, Sasha made a break on the fourth attempt – for the fourth time in the match.

Alexander Zverev / Photo: © Darrian Traynor / Freelancer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

If the Russian had kept his serve in the first set with the score 5:5… Perhaps it would have been much easier for him both in the tiebreak and in the second set. But the burden of responsibility, coupled with Zverev’s aggression, determined the result. At the key moment of the game, Medvedev again gave in and lost his game, and with it the set: 3:6.

Nerves to the limit

To think about how to play with such a Zverev, Danya went to the tribune room. The task was not trivial, but Medvedev knows how to come back from a 0:2 score in sets, which he repeatedly proved during this tournament. Although Nick Kyrgios, speaking at the tournament as an expert, suggested that the Russian would not be fresh enough for five sets.

Changes in the third set were obvious: now the tennis players closed their games in a couple of minutes. This did not bode well for Dani: how to make a break if the opponent serves first in 93 cases out of 100? Especially the first one that a German has.

Daniil Medvedev / Photo: © Graham Denholm / Freelancer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The tiebreak, which was not reached in the first set, did happen. Danya made a mini-break, gave it away, then made another one and made a mistake again, allowing the German to level the situation. Almost for the first time in this match, Medvedev had the initiative, but in a tiebreaker this, of course, does not give much. In such nervous moments, the main thing is to resist. Danya managed to win this set – 7:6 (7:4)

There were no surges in the fourth set until the 12th game, when Danya, winning 6:5, decided to check the out on the opponent’s serve. Considering that Melbourne has an automatic system for identifying such episodes, the request seemed strange. The long pause that arose because of this angered the German: “He’s doing a show again,” Sasha complained to the judge.

But the German survived and brought the matter to a tie-break. To emerge victorious for the second time in a row from this duel of nerves is incredible luck and skill. With the score 5:4 in favor of Zverev, the German had to win two plays on his serve to take the match. But Daniil, with incredible efforts, pulled out what seemed to be a dead game – 7:5 in the tiebreaker and 2:2 in games.

The psychology of a winner

The Russian’s face did not express any emotion after the crazy comeback. The 27-year-old tennis player remained composed – a rare occurrence for Medvedev in such difficult matches.

Closer to midnight Australian time, Zverev gave his opponent a three break point head start. The German made so many mistakes that Danya simply could not help but lead with the break – 3:2. For only the second time in the match and for the first time after the opening set, our tennis player took a game on the opponent’s serve.

The pressure grew, but only hit Zverev. He made more and more mistakes, did not cling to his opponent’s serve, and with the score 3:5, he lost the first two rallies on his own serve. Sasha also had to find a loophole for a pause – Medvedev’s opponent decided to change his racket.

Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev / Photo: © Cameron Spencer / Staf / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

It helped, but not for long. Danya still got a match point and, after another inaccuracy from Zverev, celebrated a phenomenal victory: 5:7, 3:6, 7:6 (7:4), 7:6 (7:5), 6:3. The psychology of the winner once again worked for Medvedev. Now Daniil will compete with Italian Jannik Sinner for the title. A tough opponent, but our tennis player is quite capable.