By David Awopetu
Russian Daniil Medvedev secured a spot in the Australian Open semi-finals with a 7-5 6-3 6-2 victory over friend and compatriot Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, extending his winning streak to 19 matches.
It was Rublev’s fourth straight defeat to Medvedev, who has not lost a match since October.
Fourth seed and US Open finalist, Medvedev, had won all his previous matches against Rublev in straight sets and it was no different at a scorching Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.
Medvedev raised his game during the important points and sealed the contest with a forehand winner.
Medvedev will now face the winner of Wednesday’s other quarter-final between Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Novak Djokovic will go up against Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev in the other semi-final.
Medvedev, who won the ATP Finals in London at the end of last year and went unbeaten through Russia’s ATP Cup triumph, needed treatment on his thigh after the match.
He said on court: ‘I started cramping in my quad. I saw he was cramping also so I tried not to show it. But I couldn’t really move my left leg at the end.
‘It was super tough, we had some unbelievable rallies. I think I’m one of the first players to make Andrey tired on court so I’m quite happy about it.”
