A spot in the Australian Open final – and the chance to become the least popular man in Australia, at least for one night – is at stake as Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Daniil Medvedev.
Tonight’s winner will face fan favourite Rafael Nadal in Sunday night’s final.
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Medvedev was both booed and siuuuu-ed on his way onto Rod Laver Arena with the crowd, featuring plenty of Melbourne’s Greek community, clearly on Tsitsipas’ side.
They were thrilled when the No.4 seed held to love to open the match.
Nine’s Jim Courier suggested the closed roof and cooler conditions would help Medvedev.
“They (the conditions) are so different to what they have been experiencing for their last four matches. It was so hot in the run-up. Even the night matches it was warm and the ball was travelling quickly. It was very tough physically on them,” he explained.
“It is closed tonight. Air conditioned. Very comfortable, no breeze. And what that does, although it is still so humid, it is tough to finish points. The ball is not as lively.
“The players don’t get to control the conditions but if they did, I think Tsitsipas, given that he played so well in the heat and so quickly and efficiently against (Jannik) Sinner, would love to have those type of (hot) conditions for his ball to be even more offensive against this immense defence on the other side of the net.
“These conditions are tailor-made for Medvedev, given the fatigue he must have in his body.”
Through four games, neither man was able to win a single point while returning; it took until 40-0 in the fifth game, when Medvedev got a very lucky net cord, for the receiver to get on the board.
Another net cord at 3-3 gave Medvedev a second point on Tsitsipas’ serve, but otherwise it went 34 points until a returner truly deserved a point.
“22 minutes for eight games in this semi-final – it’s been a sprint,” Courier said.
Then the script flipped as Medvedev earned three set points at 0-40 – an incredibly long rally proving crucial – before Tsitsipas managed to save all of them.
The Russian earned a fourth off a cross-court return that forced a Tsitsipas error, but a brutal first serve saved it for the Greek. In the end an eight and a half minute game saw him hold for 5-4.
Medvedev continued to be completely flawless on serve, yet to drop a point on it at 5-5.
PREVIEW
World No.2 Medvedev comes into tonight’s semi-final hoping it will be a simple repeat of last year, when he took down current world No.4 Tsitsipas in straight sets.
But on quarter-final form, it’s Tsitsipas who should be the favourite, after he breezed past Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Medvedev in contrast had to fight from two sets down less than 48 hours ago, spending nearly five hours on court in his epic win over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Russian, who could be the world No.1 within weeks if he wins the Melbourne Park title, is trying to become the fifth active player to reach multiple Australian Open finals.
Tsitsipas is making his third appearance in the semi-finals here, losing to Medvedev in straights last year and to Rafael Nadal in straights in 2019.
Medvedev and Tsitsipas have a tumultuous history dating back to an on-court clash in 2018 which saw the pair hurling insults at each other.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2022 – Night 12 – Order of Play and Results
Night session from 7:30pm
Men’s Semi-Final: [4] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs [2] Daniil Medvedev (RUS)
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