Daniil Medvedev set up a potential semifinal against Novak Djokovic after the Russian defeated countryman Karen Khachanov in straight sets at the Adelaide International on Friday.
Seeded third at the ATP 250 hard-court tournament, Medvedev continued his impressive start to the year with a dominant performance against Khachanov in their quarterfinal, winning 6-3 6-3 in a match lasting 78 minutes.
Medvedev will next play the winner of the quarterfinal between top seed Djokovic and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov, who meet later on Friday.
Medvedev, 26, said he was satisfied with the nature of his win against Khachanov – a player ranked number 20 in the world.
“We didn’t play [each other] since 2019, that’s pretty long,” Medvedev said after his victory. “Hopefully we can play more matches at later stages of tournaments.
“It’s never easy, I’m happy that I managed to really raise my level, especially at the end of both sets, and I’m really happy to be through to the semis.”
Despite only being an ATP 250 event, the tournament in Adelaide is hosting big names such as Medvedev and Djokovic as they tune up for the Australian Open later in January.
Elsewhere in the draw in Adelaide, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka will play American rival Sebastian Korda in the other semifinal.