“king of comeback”Medvedev beats Zverev in epic semi-final
Daniil Medvedev came back from two sets down to beat Alexander ZverevMedvedev says that first set, neither of them played that well, and though he improved in the second, Zverev was really good. So in the third, he told himself that even if he lost, he just wanted to be proud of himself, and he is. Goodness me, imagine that feeling.
He decided he couldn’t keep running as he was so started going for more, doing what he thought he needed to and it worked, his serving improved, and he got lucky at 5-5 ion the breaker – “the slice was intentional, not the “backspin against the wind”, he chortles. “Sometimes you need to be lucky and today’s my day,” he concludes; well yes, but also, you made it your day.
He’s happy he made it tough for himself because his record in five-setters isn’t good and many times in the decider he’s not been strong enough, so he’s happy. A month ago, he wanted to become stronger mentally and not be distracted by some bloke in the crowd shouting, or the umpire making an error.
Asked about Sinner, her says he was sleeping during the Rublev match, but beating Djokovic, 10-0 in AO semis, is impressive. He hopes it’s third time lucky in the final, asking if they have this phrase in Australia, noting that Laver isn’t his best court in terms of his results and “self-esteem” on it, but he needs to play well and win two sets – he means three – on Sunday. What a nice, fun man.08.10 EST
I am shaking. Daniil Medvedev is a complete freak of nature, an unbelievable athlete and competitor. He didn’t even play that well, but he worked out how to do enough, and gave us one of the great comebacks. He knows about those on this court, and meets Jannik Sinner in the final on SundayDaniil Medvedev (2) beats Alexander Zverev 5-7 3-6 7-6(4) 7-6(5) 6-3! He meets Jannik Sinner in the final!
Medvedev 5-7 3-6 7-6(4) 7-6(5)5-3 Zverev* It’s not the surprising to see Zverev drop – he played the match of his life just two days ago and the pressure is intense. But it didn’t look like Medvedev could improve sufficiently to win three sets straight, yet here he is and we are … and two more errors from Zverev, going long and into the net, leave him two points from a defeat he’ll wear around his neck until the day he dies. He looks like he could cry after closing to 15-30 and I’m sure he can, all the more so when he overhits a forehand down the line … no, it clipped its outermost fibre … but then a backhand is definitively long, and DANIIL MEDVEDEV HAS MATCH POINT! I SAID DANIIL MEDVEDEV HAS MATCH POINT! AND HE TAKES IT TOO, A ZVEREV FOREHAND CATCHING THE NET-CORD AND FLOPPING WIDE! WHAT ON EARTH HAVE WE SEEN HERE? HOLD ME!
