Alexander Zverev missed out on his second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open after a dramatic defeat against Daniil Medvedev. In the final in Melbourne, Medvedev will face Jannik Sinner, who dethroned defending champion Novak Djokovic in his semi-final.
Zverev lost the semi-finals on Friday (January 26th, 2024) against number three seed Medvedev 7:5, 6:3, 6:7, 6:7, 3:6 and must therefore go on to win his first Grand Slam title waiting for his career. In 2020, the Hamburg resident unfortunately lost his only major final at the US Open against Dominic Thiem.
Medvedev, winner of the US Open in 2021, made it to the final in Melbourne for the third time; he has not yet won the title at the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.
Nervous start – Zverev presents
Zverev got off to a much better start in the match and was quickly ahead with two breaks – but then allowed himself to be infected by the Russian’s nervous game, who couldn’t find any rhythm at all. The first set turned out to be a festival of mistakes, both players lacked confidence. Zverev gave up the lead and almost left the third break unused when the score was 6:5, but then trembled to win the set on his own serve.
In the second set, Zverev was finally able to get rid of the tension, played more decisively and showed greater variability against the still passive Medvedev. Zverev managed an early break again when the score was 2:2 – and brought the lead safely to the finish.
Medvedev is 0-2 set down but fighting
Medvedev looked ailing after losing the second set. In the quarterfinals he went over five sets against Hubert Hurkacz in the afternoon heat. But the Russian fought and even had a break ball when the score was 4:4. But Zverev continued to show strong nerves, the tiebreak had to decide the set, Medvedev was the more powerful player and shortened it.
Medvedev was now fully there mentally, was more agile and took the initiative. But Zverev held on, continued to serve stably – and survived a tricky situation with a break ball for the Russian when the score was 3:4.
Zverev stable – but no luck in the tiebreak
Afterwards, he didn’t allow himself to be disturbed by his opponent’s psychological antics, who, with a 6-5 lead and Zverev serving, unnecessarily demanded a video review when the German scored a clear winner. Zverev rightly complained to the chair referee, then hit the Russian with two strong serves – the fourth set also went into a tiebreak.
There Medvedev wobbled briefly and made a double fault when the score was 4:4. But Zverev missed the good chance on his own serve. Medvedev also had luck on his side and only with difficulty brought back a return that caught the Hamburg player on the wrong foot. Medvedev took advantage of the subsequent set point with an ace – and forced the fifth set.
Zverev shows nerves in the fifth set
Zverev had to cope with another setback and showed nerves for the first time: When the score was 2:2, he volleyed out of bounds – and in frustration maltreated the net with his racket. Medvedev managed the break and was suddenly on course for the final. Zverev didn’t come back – a last forehand error on Medvedev’s first match point sealed the defeat after 4:18 hours.
“At the beginning I was a little lost, but in the third set I said to myself, I want to at least be proud of myself. And I won and I’m very proud now,” said Medvedev. “The two tiebreaks were incredible. I was a bit lucky there too.”
Sinner dominates Djokovic – not a single break point for the Serb
In the first semi-final, Jannik Sinner dethroned world number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic. The Italian won 6:1, 6:2, 6:7, 6:3 after just under three and a half hours and reached the final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. For ten-time Australian Open champion Djokovic, it was the first defeat in Melbourne in 2,195 days and the first semi-final defeat in his favorite tournament ever. The last time he had to admit defeat was South Korean Chung Hyeon in the round of 16 in 2018. He then won 33 games in a row in Melbourne.
Djokovic: “Jannik fully deserved to win”
“That was one of the worst Grand Slam matches I’ve ever played. I was shocked at the level I played,” said the dethroned Djokovic after the semi-final exit. “To be honest, I didn’t play well the whole tournament. Jannik completely dominated me today and completely deserved to win.”
Djokovic had to fend off a match point in the tiebreak of the third set and saved himself in the fourth set. But the Italian remained stable, especially with his service: he didn’t allow a single break point throughout the entire match and in return continued to put Djokovic under pressure. The Serb wobbled in his first serve game in the fourth set, after which Sinner managed the decisive break to make it 3-1.
Matthias Cammann, Sportschau, January 26, 2024 8:30 a.m
Sinner hopes for an Italian weekend: “Keep your fingers crossed for us”
“It was very hard. During the first two sets I had the feeling that he didn’t really feel comfortable on the court. I just tried to stay focused and keep putting pressure on him. I’m over the moon,” he said Italian in court interview after reaching the final in Melbourne. “That leaves me speechless. I can still remember how I played the first exhibition matches here. I’m looking forward to my first final,” said the world number four and reminded the fans at home that with Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori are also two Italians reaching for the title in doubles. “I hope you keep your fingers crossed for us.”
2024-01-26 07:10:42
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