Russian ace Daniil Medvedev achieved a remarkable comeback in the Australian Open semi-final last night, defeating Alexander Zverev 5-7, 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 6-3.
The victory puts Medvedev on track for his second Grand Slam title.
After consecutive final losses at Melbourne Park in 2021 and 2022 to Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal, Medvedev, a former US Open champion, will face Italian sensation Jannik Sinner in the final.
After the match Medvedev praised Zverev’s game and acknowledged his need for full recovery before the final and hope for a ‘third time lucky’ attempt.
Medvedev initially struggled with double faults and fell behind but managed to recover. Zverev took the first set with an impressive backhand volley after a long rally. Medvedev felt he played better in the second set, despite losing it, and focused on fighting for every point. His resilience was evident as he won the third set in a tiebreak.
In the key third set Medvedev adopted a more aggressive approach which proved successful. In the fourth overcame a double fault in the tiebreak to level the match, eventually breaking in the fifth set to secure his victory.
The win marked the second time Medvedev had come back from two sets down in the tournament.
