‘One of my best matches’: Imperious Medvedev marches past compatriot Rublev and into Australian Open semifinals

Russia’s top-ranked tennis player Daniil Medvedev has commented on his confident victory in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open, saying he managed to make his compatriot Andrey Rublev feel tired on the court.

On Wednesday, fourth seed Medvedev reached his first Australian Open semifinal by beating Rublev in straight sets 7:5, 6:3, 6:2 and extending his winning streak to 19 matches.

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Talking about his impressive quarterfinal performance, the 25-year-old said that it was “one of his best matches,” as he managed to secure a solid win without spending much time on the court.

“That was one of my best matches... I beat him in three sets not even with a tiebreak so I’m really happy,” Medvedev said.

“We had some unbelievable rallies, I’m one of the first players to make Andrey so tired... It’s hard to play [a friend] but we’re all so competitive, just need to win, get to that Grand Slam semifinal,” he added.

Medvedev, who will climb one spot in the ATP rankings to become the world number three, also expressed admiration for fellow player Aslan Karatsev who sensationally reached the semis, stressing that an all-Russian final would be “a dream come true.”

“It’s unbelievable, I’m so happy for Aslan, he’s made history. I don’t know what he did in the pandemic, probably just worked hard I guess,” he said of the 114th-ranked Karatsev, who became the first player to reach the last four in his debut Grand Slam campaign.

“If we have an all-Russian final, it’s going to be a dream come true, but we both have tough matches. It’s so good for Russian tennis.”

In the semifinal, Medvedev will take on the winner of the match between Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas, while Karatsev will face off against world number one Novak Djokovic.