On Friday, Alexander Zverev will meet Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of the Australian Open – a duel with history and a lot of drama.
He wants to reach the final of the Australian Open for the first time: Alexander Zverev. IMAGO/AAP
Alexander Zverev played almost to perfection in his quarterfinal triumph over Carlos Alcaraz – but now it’s against Daniil Medvedev. Zverev and Medvedev will face each other for the 19th time on Friday, the record speaks in favor of the Russian, who has emerged victorious eleven times so far – they were often exciting matches that were only narrowly decided. Still explosive from the German’s point of view: Medvedev has won nine of eleven games since 2020, most recently at the ATP Finals in Turin 7:6 (9:7) and 6:4.
“He’s kicked my ass a lot recently,” said Zverev on Wednesday, referring to his disastrous record against the Russian, who is a year older than him and with whom he doesn’t have an easy relationship – in April last year Zverev had Medvedev after his exit in Monte Carlo described as “one of the most unfair players in the world“. The Russian countered sharply and asked Zverev to look in the mirror.
Netflix episode adds fuel to the fire
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National handball player Fabian Wiede from Füchse Berlin analyzes Germany’s semi-final opponent Denmark and gives an update on his recovery. The news: Union Berlin coach Bjelica wades for Sané, the injury misery at Bayern continues and Werder Bremen with a new investor alliance.
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An episode of the second Netflix season “Breakpoint” dedicated to Zverev also caused upset, showing the match in Monte Carlo clearly colored from the perspective of the sixth in the world rankings and giving Medvedev a clearly exaggerated image as a “villain”. Medvedev himself didn’t have much to say about it, but said: “That’s what Netflix is like and that’s why people love it, because it exaggerates things. Usually it’s hot and cold, not neutral.”
In the meantime, the waves between the two have apparently calmed down somewhat, there are no longer any poisonous tips between the two, who actually got along very well when they were young. In any case, the career paths of Zverev and Medvedev are similar – with the exception of the Hamburg native’s serious injury at the French Open 2022.
At eye level – or not?
The rogue? Daniil Medvedev. IMAGO/PanoramiC
In terms of success, both are still on equal footing. Zverev has won 21 individual titles so far, his greatest successes being gold at the Olympic Games in Tokyo and winning the ATP Finals in 2018 and 2021. Medvedev has 20 titles and, curiously, he has not yet been able to win a tournament twice. His greatest success so far is undoubtedly winning the US Open 2021; In contrast to Zverev, he was already number 1 in the world.
At the Grand Slam level, the currently best German tennis player once reached a major final, that was at the US Open in 2020, when he had to bow to Dominik Thiem in a five-set thriller. He played semi-finals at Grand Slams far more often, most recently at the French Open 2023. Overall, it will be his seventh semi-final in a Grand Slam, only Boris Becker was more successful from a German perspective with 18 participations.
Zverev needs his maximum
Either way: The next chapter in this rivalry will open on Friday – and Zverev is confident despite physical complaints (“blood blisters under his toes”). “I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I feel good physically on the pitch,” said the 26-year-old and emphasized: “I’ve worked a lot physically. From the physical side, there are hardly any players who work more on it than me. ” The pain doesn’t bother him because: “I’d rather play the semi-finals like this than watch the tournament at home without pain.”
Against Medvedev, Zverev will have to go to his maximum again, after all, the Russian is considered the second best return player on the tour after Novak Djokovic. Against Alcaraz, Zverev played very aggressively, often dictated the tempo and had a phenomenal serve rate of almost 90 percent – so far this has been over 70 percent in the entire tournament. He will need all of this against the unorthodox player in the world rankings, who makes his opponent fight bitterly for every point and is almost impossible to beat in baseline duels.