Alexander Zverev lost the semi-finals of the Australian Open against Russian Daniil Medvedev. The Olympic champion won the first two sets in Melbourne with 7:5 and 6:3, but then gave up the victory with 6:7, 6:7 and 3:6.
Zverev therefore missed his second final in a Grand Slam tournament. The 26-year-old from Hamburg lost to the Austrian Dominic Thiem in the final of the US Open in 2020. He also won the first two sets against Thiem.
Strong start with mistakes in the second half
Zverev started the game strongly and took Medvedev’s serve twice. He also benefited from a total of four double faults from his opponent – and won the very long rallies that are considered Medvedev’s specialty. After 58 minutes he won the first set and after 1:43 hours also the second.
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However, Medvedev was able to improve in the third round. The 2001 US Open champion now served better and took advantage of Zverev’s weak phase in the tiebreak to take the third set. In the fourth set, the decision also had to be made in the tiebreak, where Zverev initially led 5:3, but was unable to maintain his lead.
In the deciding set, Zverev made too many mistakes and conceded the decisive break at 2:3. After 4:18 hours, Medvedev used his first match point and thus destroyed Zverev’s dream of his first Grand Slam title.
Sinner ends Đoković’s long-standing winning streak
Medvedev will face the Italian Jannik Sinner in the final. Surprisingly, he had previously beaten defending champion Novak Đoković 6:1, 6:2, 6:7 and 6:3 in the first semi-final. Sinner ended the Serb’s strong series in Melbourne – it was the first defeat of world number one Đoković after 2,195 days. The last time Đoković lost was in the round of 16 of the Australian Open in 2018 against South Korean Chung Hyeon.
Sinner has reached the first Grand Slam final of his career. “Jannik completely dominated me today and completely deserved to win,” said Đoković after the game. “That was one of my worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played.”
Alexander Zverev lost the semi-finals of the Australian Open against Russian Daniil Medvedev. The Olympic champion won the first two sets in Melbourne with 7:5 and 6:3, but then gave up the victory with 6:7, 6:7 and 3:6.
Zverev therefore missed his second final in a Grand Slam tournament. The 26-year-old from Hamburg lost to the Austrian Dominic Thiem in the final of the US Open in 2020. He also won the first two sets against Thiem.
Zverev started the game strongly and took Medvedev’s serve twice. He also benefited from a total of four double faults from his opponent – and won the very long rallies that are considered Medvedev’s specialty. After 58 minutes he won the first set and after 1:43 hours also the second.
