Russian world No.4 Daniil Medvedev extended his win streak to 19 matches after taking down fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in the Australian Open quarter-finals, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.
Medvedev dismantled Rublev, who was his ATP Cup teammate when Russia won the tournament earlier this month, in what was a fairly one-sided affair on Rod Laver Arena. Medvedev will now play in his first semi-final at Melbourne Park.
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The 25-year-old will await the winner of tonight's quarter-final as Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas clash on Rod Laver Arena.
The No.4-seeded Medvedev hasn't dropped a single set to No.7-seeded Rublev in four tour-level matches, which includes their meeting in the U.S. Open quarter-finals last year.
Medvedev after the match surprisingly called for the trainer to massage his upper legs as he sat in a courtside chair before a TV interview.
"First time. I think I never saw it also," he said, when asked about his legs in the on-court interview.
"I went to the bench in the last game of the match. I started cramping."
While Rublev, who appeared to struggle through Melbourne's heat, was left struggling to stand up on his feet at times.
Towards the end of the match he cut a ghostly figure as he struggled with heat exhaustion, prompting Egyptian tennis journalist Reem Abulleil to comment that he
looked dead".
https://twitter.com/ReemAbulleil/status/1361930146790440965?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Medvedev admitted he was "quite happy" he left his fellow Russian counterpart struggling for comfort on the court.
"I knew he was cramping also so I had to not show it. I think I'm one of the first players to make Andrey that tired, so I'm quite happy about it. One of the best matches I've played," Medvedev added.
"At the end, I locked completely … three last points when I was getting ready for the serve."
Rublev admitted it was a tough day out for him mentally as he failed to take advantage of the only two opportunities which came his way.
"Mentally it was of course tough because you feel always that you cannot lose focus because as soon as you lose focus it's going to be over," Rublev told reporters.
"Like I said, I feel today he was much better than me. I mean, not maybe much better but he was better because he beat me in straight sets. The only two chances I had, it's 5-all first set and 3-all second set, and that's it.
"But still, I don't know even if I would make it. Okay, maybe I win one set and then I'm still going to lose the match. I cannot say that this was like a turning point or something. I just had two chances that I didn't make today, but it's tennis; it's part of it."
Rublev's difficulties drew plenty of reaction on social media:
https://twitter.com/BenRothenberg/status/1361914812230434817?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361914812230434817%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Ftennis%2Faustralian-open%2Faustralian-open-2021-daniil-medvedev-def-andrey-rublev-result-score-video-highlights%2Fnews-story%2Fc0cb6a6d631c53cd774735266e41249fhttps://twitter.com/clutchplay/status/1361916877522407426?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361916877522407426%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Ftennis%2Faustralian-open%2Faustralian-open-2021-daniil-medvedev-def-andrey-rublev-result-score-video-highlights%2Fnews-story%2Fc0cb6a6d631c53cd774735266e41249fhttps://twitter.com/TennisPodcast/status/1361926801413521411?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1361926801413521411%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxsports.com.au%2Ftennis%2Faustralian-open%2Faustralian-open-2021-daniil-medvedev-def-andrey-rublev-result-score-video-highlights%2Fnews-story%2Fc0cb6a6d631c53cd774735266e41249f
– with AP
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