(Tennis news) Daniil Medvedev was defeated by the 35-year-old Spaniard, Roberto Bautista 7-5, 7-6 (7-3). Eighth seed Bautista Agut currently holds a 5-2 career advantage over the champion of the 2021 US Open. In 2022, Medvedev, the previous world number one, finished second on the Halle grass after falling to Hubert Hurkacz of Poland in the championship match.

“To beat Daniil on this court, you have to play really good” said Bautista Agut.

“I didn’t feel good (for) some months this year, but I kept working hard. I know tennis is sometimes very difficult, but today it showed that I have been working hard.”

Medvedev has a dismal surface record and has never been past the Wimbledon quarterfinals. He was unable to compete there last year because Russian sportsmen were barred due to the conflict in Ukraine. The third seed Andrey Rublev upset the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor in the match on Friday, advancing to face Bautista Agut. Rublev, who had previously defeated Griekspoor in three sets at the Qatar Open in Doha in February, dropped the opening set 3-6 but won the following two 6-3, 6-4.

Alexander Zverev, who won the gold medal in the Olympics, also advanced to the semifinals by defeating Nicolas Jarry of Chile. Jarry was upset by the 26-year-old German, who this year advanced to the French Open semifinals, 7-5, 6-3.

“It’s fantastic that I’ve been able to keep playing like I did in Paris, but there’s still a few things to improve on” Zverev said.

This will be Zverev’s third appearance in the semifinals. In 2016 and 2017, the German advanced to the Halle tournament final, where he was defeated by 10-time champion Roger Federer.

After Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan advanced when fourth-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner withdrew due to injury in their quarterfinal match, Zverev will face Bublik in the semifinals.

Having won the opening set 7-5, Bublik was leading the second set 2-0 when Sinner withdrew due to an injury to his right leg. At the conclusion of the first set, the Italian had taken a medical break. After receiving physiotherapy, he played two more games, losing both, before withdrawing. The 21-year-old world No. 9 Sinner is currently in a race against time to be well in time for Wimbledon, which begins in early July.

Also read: Andrey Rublev to play Roberto Bautista Agut in 4th Round