Wimbledon 2024: Medvedev triumphs in battle of nerves against Sinner to storm into semifinal

Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner have been each other’s bogeymen. Until September 2023, Medvedev had won all six of their encounters only for Sinner to emerge victorious in the next five.

The most vivid of these was the 2024 Australian Open final where the Russian, for the second time in Melbourne, cracked under the weight of history to blow a two-sets-to-love lead.

On Tuesday it nearly happened again before Medvedev composed himself to win a roller-coaster five-setter 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 and enter his second successive Wimbledon semifinal.

“If you have to beat Jannik, it has to be a tough match,” Medvedev said after the match. “He is not anymore a guy who can be beaten easily. I played at a high level, great points and I am happy.”

The opening set unfolded just as expected. Big hitters both, their primary strategy was to win a lot of free points off their serves. In this, Sinner shaded Medvedev early on. The Italian won 23 of the 25 points where he landed his first serve, and put most balls back into play while returning.

The Italian also had more shots for the highlights reel, with his whipped forehand and the half-knelt backhand eliciting from the audience many a gasp and whoop.

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But Medvedev stayed within touching distance with his deceptively efficient shot-making. The Russian was solid from the backcourt and lethal whenever he advanced, winning seven out of eight net points.

The set inevitably slipped into a tie-break and it was Sinner who blinked first, serving a double fault at 5-5. But an over eager Medvedev sent a forehand wide. Sinner earned a second opportunity with an excellent backhand down the line and Medvedev handed him the set with a double-fault of his own.

Having drawn first blood, Sinner relaxed for a fleeting moment and Medvedev pounced, breaking him in the third game of the second set.

The 28-year-old took it 6-4 and broke Sinner again in the third game of the third. Both times Sinner lost serve, it was his forehand that proved his undoing, a stroke that also wobbled during his fourth-round win over Ben Shelton.

It didn’t help that Sinner seemed physically compromised too, taking a timeout immediately after Medvedev went ahead 2-1 in the third set. But he came back rejuvenated, breaking back in the 10th game and holding to 6-5.

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On the subsequent Medvedev serve, he earned two set-points, but an ace from Medvedev and a backhand unforced error negated both.

Another tie-break ensued and just when it seemed like Sinner had turned a corner, his forehand broke down again as he lost four of the seven tie-break points from that wing. It was also the first of his last 10 tie-breaks he had lost, stretching back to the title win in Halle.

If Medvedev thought Sinner would wilt, he was mistaken. The World No.1 came back guns blazing, running up a 5-1 lead with two breaks of serve before levelling the match at two sets apiece.

The decider, in line with the rest of the match, again turned at the flick of a switch as Medvedev raised his game a notch up 2-1. Two winners, one each from the forehand and backhand wings, pushed Sinner to a corner and he succumbed to the pressure by serving a double-fault.

A forehand error from Sinner gave Medvedev the break and he had one foot in the semis. And soon he dragged the whole of his body over the line.