Australian Open: Daniil Medvedev outclasses Andrey Rublev, advances to semis
What's the story
World number four Daniil Medvedev, on Wednesday, advanced to the Australian Open semi-finals after defeating his Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev. Medvedev battled past Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 on the Rod Laver Arena to reach the last four for the first time. The fourth seed has now won 19 consecutive matches since the start of last year's Rolex Paris Masters. Here is more.
Match
How did the match pan out?
Rublev, who led the ATP Tour with five titles last season, entered the match in pursuit of his first Grand Slam semi-final. He looked impressive at the start, however, Medvedev's movement and defence caused him problems. The latter bounced back to win the first set 7-5. Although Rublev won some battles in the middle phase, he lost the next two sets eventually.
Battle
ATP head-to-head: Medvedev leads Rublev 4-0
Prior to this match, the two Russian players, Medvedev and Rublev, were undefeated in the season. Each of them had held an 8-0 record. However, Medvedev got the better of the latter, eventually winning the quarter-final that lasted two hours and five minutes. Interestingly, Medvedev now leads Rublev 4-0 in their ATP head-to-head series (10-0 in sets).
Feats
A look at the feats attained by Medvedev
The reigning ATP Finals champion, Medvedev, has now won 11 consecutive matches against Top 10 opponents. After reaching the semi-finals, he is guaranteed to at least attain a career-high number three in the ATP Rankings following this event. Medvedev has reached his third Grand Slam semi-final, joint-fourth-most among Russian men after Marat Safin (7), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (6), Nikolay Davydenko (4).
History
Russians rule the Australian Open this season
Medvedev will next play second seed Rafael Nadal or fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals. Earlier, world number 114 Aslan Karatsev proceeded to semi-final by defeating 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov in a historic clash. Now, Medvedev and Karatsev have become the third pair of Russian men to reach the semi-finals of a Grand Slam. Previous: Kafelnikov-Safin (2001 US Open), Davydenko-Mikhail (2006 US Open).