Reilly Opelka has been making some big statements in Toronto this week – on and off the court. Having recovered from match point down to beat Lloyd Harris in the previous round, the man from Michigan powered his way through to the second Masters semi-final of his career by seeing off Roberto Bautista Agut, the Spanish 10th seed, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1).
Asked after the match about his next opponent, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Opelka ventured that the Greek has “the best forehand in the world right now”. If that was something of a surprise, coming from a player who grew up idolising Rafael Nadal, eyebrows were raised further when Opelka later opined that Tsitsipas, a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Casper Ruud, is “the second best player in the world right now, behind Novak [Djokovic]”.
Quite what Daniil Medvedev would make of that appraisal is anyone’s guess. Medvedev, the official world No 2, has earned his status by right, winning titles in Marseille and Mallorca this year and compiling his most consistent season to date in the majors. Beaten in the Australian Open final by Djokovic, the Russian followed up with a run to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, where he had previously failed to win a match in four attempts, and reached the last 16 at Wimbledon for the first time, falling in five sets to Hubert Hurkacz, his quarter-final opponent in Toronto.
Opelka, who said in press that Tsitsipas and Medvedev were “the top two” outside of the “big three”, meant no offence to the Russian. Yet it is not hard to see how a wider perception has taken hold that it is Tsitsipas, rather than Medvedev, who offers the greatest threat to the status quo. For one thing, Tsitsipas pushed Djokovic a good deal harder in Paris, where he squandered a two-set lead against the world No 1 in the final, than Medvedev was able to in his straight-sets defeat to the Serb in Melbourne. For another, Medvedev lacks the flowing elegance of the Greek, whose technique is as easy on the eye as it is hard on his opponents.
Yet aesthetics don’t win tennis matches, as Medvedev’s 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-5) victory over Hurkacz, the world No 13, demonstrated. This was a win that showcased the top seed’s signature qualities: resilience, focus, a determination to find a way regardless of circumstance. For two sets, the Muscovite was a scrambling whirl of rangy limbs that frequently seemed to be working against each other. His timing was off, his shots lacked penetration, and mistakes flowed from his racket.
Medvedev double-faulted to fall a break behind in the sixth game, his difficulties never more apparent than when he marred an otherwise fine counter-punching rally by sending a woeful drop shot into the alley off a tame tweener from Hurkacz. By the time he sent a simple bounce smash long on set point, a shot that many club players would have been embarrassed to miss, Medvedev had made 19 unforced errors and won just 18% of the points behind his second serve.
A set up without ever looking wholly convincing, Hurkacz missed a golden opportunity to break in the sixth game of the second set as Medvedev continued to look vulnerable. Having come out on the wrong end of a rally in which the players exchanged tweeners, twice missing chances to put away the ball at the net, Medvedev saved a break point and went on to seal the game with an ace, one of 23 he hit on the night. Only his serve was keeping him in it, but somehow the Russian clung on to take the set into a nip-and-tuck tiebreak, where two successive forehand errors finally did for Hurkacz.
Missed opportunities proved costly for Hurkacz, who survived the contest unbroken and faced only two break points throughout. One break point came and went in the opening game of the decider, while another went begging at 5-5, Medvedev bravely guiding a volley deep into the Pole’s forehand corner. An unforced error from Hurkacz at 2-3 in the ensuing tiebreak proved decisive, Medvedev seizing the initiative before sealing the match with an ace.
“It was super tough,” said Medvedev, who will play John Isner in the last four after the in-form American saw off Gael Monfils 7-6 (7-5), 6-4. “When we played at Wimbledon, I felt like I could have finished it earlier, and finally he was the winner. Here it was the same. He had his chances, he was probably the better player for at least two sets, for sure, but that’s tennis. We both have great serves, I hit some aces when I needed to, it was definitely not easy. He was on top of me, but to win matches like this gives you a huge boost of confidence.”
In Montreal, Camila Giorgi followed up her victories over Elise Mertens and Petra Kvitova by claiming a third seeded scalp. Giorgi defeated Coco Gauff, the 15th seed, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) to set up a semi-final against Jessica Pegula.
“I think it was a great match,” said the 71st-ranked Italian, who at 29 is playing some of the finest tennis of her career. “I was very consistent. It was a great level. This is the first time I don’t have interruptions. I have consistency and I’ve played many, many tournaments now in this year without stopping. So I think this is the key. I didn’t have that in other years. I think I always had some issue physically, like injury or something. So I think now I’m playing my game really.”
Giorgi will need to maintain that level against Pegula, who has played herself into form after going the distance in each of her four matches so far. The American fought back from a set down to beat 13th seed Ons Jabeur, who served for the match at 5-4 in the second set only to be swept aside in the decider as Pegula saw out a 1-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-0 victory.
“I dug my heels in, I’m not going to give away these easy errors, I’m going to kind of will myself to start playing better,” said Pegula, the world No 30, of her comeback. “That doesn’t always work, but it seemed to work just in time tonight.”
Aryna Sabalenka, the top seed, came through 6-2, 6-4 against fellow Belarusian Viktoria Azarenka. Sabalenka will face Karolina Pliskova in the last four in a repeat of their Wimbledon semi-final, which the Czech won in three sets. Pliskova beat Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-4, 6-0.
“We played many times, so I know exactly what I have to do,” said Pliskova, the fourth seed. “The question is if I’m able to do it tomorrow, how well she’s going to play. Of course, there are moments where she’s playing amazing, you cannot do much about it. I believe I will have some chances.”