Emotions like in a movie! “Unfair” Medvedev defeated his rival Zverev in an epic battle

In the second semifinal of the Australian Open, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev and Germany’s Alexander Zverev faced each other. And the very composition of this match stirred up some serious emotions. Why do these two tennis players dislike each other and how did their duel go?

The reasons for the mismatch

Life isn’t a TV series, but the timing of the second semi-final match at this year’s Australian Open met the strictest requirements for a box office blockbuster. World number three Daniel Medvedev challenged Alexander Zverev in it.

The match of huge importance for both players occurred a few weeks after the launch of the Netflix series, which concerns this particular pair of tennis players. In it, Zverev featured as the positive hero and Medvedev as the main negative figure.

The focus was on the duel between the players last year, with Zverev trying to get back to the top after an injury and Medvedev using unfair actions to prevent him from doing so. Medvedev, according to Zverev, sowed chaos in the match, either by arguing with the crowd or by the ill-timed timing of the toilet break.

Bottom line The Russian earned the German’s label as one of the most unfair players on the circuit. So there was certainly no shortage of motivation for both tennis players ahead of their final match at the opening Grand Slam of the season.

Medvedev vs. Zverev semifinal

The semi-final duel was without a clear favourite. Medvedev is higher up the rankings and would probably have been the clear favourite before the tournament. But Zverev rapidly increased the value of his stock with an unexpected triumph over world number two Carlos Alcaraz.

The opening set was a parade of lost serves. Zverev had a two break lead but lost it only to symbolically end the set by regaining the Russian’s serve in the eleventh game. Set to Zverev.

The second set clearly belonged to the German tennis player. He served better and played with reasonable aggression. He didn’t face a single break point and won 6:3 to take a two-set break.

Medvedev’s third progression to the final in Melbourne in the last four years was beginning to be in danger. At this important point, both players held their serves and played with a minimum of unforced errors. The Russian was closer to breaks, but the fate of the third set had to be decided by a shortened game. The Moscow native confirmed his slight superiority and reduced it to 1:2.

The fourth set followed and it was as similar to the previous one as an egg to an egg. Again, Medvedev’s success in the tiebreak. The match was tied at 2: 2 and after almost four hours of play the deciding set followed.

The deciding set

The fifth set brought another break after a long time and Medvedev was the winner. He set the match on course to complete the big turnaround.

And he ended this great battle with a margin. He worked out a break point on his opponent’s serve and he immediately took advantage.

The Russian tennis player reacted as best he could to any signs of discord. He advances to the final, where he will face Italy’s Sinner. This will be Medvedev’s sixth Grand Slam final. But adding a second title against the Italian will be very difficult.

Source: Australian Open, Daily Mail