(Tennis news) Hubert Hurkacz was defeated in five sets by the Russian, and in a match that was just as captivating, Zverev defeated Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in four games. 

In just one of Medvedev’s first four matches at the 2024 Australian Open, the third seed won in straight sets. Therefore, it was not surprising that the Russian looked extremely worn out against the formidable Hurkacz, who easily defeated his jelly-legged opponent with 16 aces and 10 double faults from Medvedev.

Despite being out-gunned on serve – which there is no shame in against Hurkacz – Medvedev swapped his deep baseline play for a spate of serve-and-volley points in the hopes of bringing the fifth set to a swift end, and his approach paid dividends in a 7-6[4] 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 success.

In a contest rife with thrilling exchanges at the net, Medvedev’s renowned defensive supremacy won out as he saved 10 of the 15 break points Hurkacz managed to fashion, while completing the job with the most delicate of drop shots on his second match point of the contest.

The 27-year-old – whose 109 second-serve return points won at the Australian Open is second only to Hurkacz himself – now ramps up preparations for Australian Open semi-final number three, and he has progressed from both of his previous appearances in the 2021 and 2022 final four, while only losing two of his seven Grand Slam semi-finals to date.

A Grand Slam hard-court match involving Medvedev is almost always a foregone conclusion if the Russian takes the first set too, as he has won 50 of his 51 contests in such circumstances, only falling short to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 Melbourne final.

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