At a Wimbledon that has confounded expectation at every turn, it was only a matter of time before Daniil Medvedev took centre stage.
Sure enough, with the tennis world braced for the next chapter in the burgeoning rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, up popped Medvedev, the disruptor-in-chief of the men’s game, to rewrite the script. On an afternoon when Sinner struggled with illness, Medvedev came through a turbulent five-set battle with the Italian world No 1, prevailing 6-7 (7-9), 6-4 ,7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals at the All England Club for the second year in a row.
After losing five straight matches to Sinner, not least January’s Australian Open final, it was a restorative victory for the former US Open champion, who has been in danger of losing ground at the top of the men’s game after failing to win a trophy in 14 months and losing each of his past five matches against opponents ranked in the world’s top five.
Three of those top-five defeats have come against Sinner, who had not won a match against Medvedev in six attempts before beating him last October in Beijing. For Medvedev, this victory was a reminder to his younger rival – and, perhaps, to Alcaraz, whom he will face in a repeat of last year’s semi-final after the Spaniard recovered from a set and a break down to defeat Tommy Paul – that he remains competitive at the business end of majors.
“I lost five times to him, a lot of close matches and the last one [in this year’s Miami Open semi-finals] was super easy,” said Medvedev. “We’re going to play probably many more times if we are both on tour, probably semis, quarters-finals, whatever.
“For me, it was important to just show [him], ‘I’m always going to be there, I’m always going to fight, I’m always going to try to make your life difficult. Maybe you’re going to win more, maybe I’m going to win more, I don’t know. But I’m going to fight.’
“Even if he won today, the goal was to show him that every time, I’m going to be there to fight and to win, and today I managed to do it.”
For Sinner, who edged a high-quality first set in a nervy tiebreak but then looked increasingly out of sorts, it was a harrowing experience. The 22-year-old took a medical timeout three games into the third set, by which time he was a break down, and had his heart rate taken as he sweated profusely and clutched his head. He subsequently trudged off court, flanked by a physio and a doctor, sparking real concern.
After an 11-minute break in play, Sinner returned looking a little more sprightly, but the manner in which he slumped into his chair at the next changeover betrayed his continued physical struggles. He managed the situation beautifully, however, using a combination of drop shots, net rushes and huge forehands to shorten the points. After a series of unforced errors from Medvedev as he served for the set at 5-4, Sinner broke back, and even fashioned two set points in his opponent’s next service game. Medvedev held on, and subsequently went on to win the set on a tiebreak, but the Italian showed impressive resilience to recover, cantering through the fourth set to force a decider.
“I was not feeling great,” said Sinner, who revealed he had woken up feeling unwell. “I didn’t vomit. But I took some time, because I was dizzy quite a lot. Actually, off court I had a little bit the toughest time maybe.
“When I went back, I tried my best. Obviously disappointed about the third set, had a couple of set points, couldn’t use them. In the [fourth set] I raised my level a little bit, and in the fifth had just one poor service game, which decided the match.
“I was so surprised that I pushed the match longer. I retired a lot two years ago. I don’t want to retire if it’s only a little bit of illness or sickness or whatever. I was still in shape to play somehow. The fifth set I felt a little bit better again, the energy level was a bit up.
“[But] today the energy level was not consistent. It was up and down. Like this, it’s also not easy to handle the situations on the court.”
That is especially true against a wily and ruthless competitive animal like Medvedev, who is never more dangerous than when he scents blood in the water. Ever the amiable Machiavellian, the 28-year-old admitted in his on-court interview that he wanted to make Sinner “play more points to make him suffer a little bit more” – “in a good way,” he added with a mischievous smile – but said it was difficult playing with the knowledge that Sinner would eventually be forced to go for broke. Now he will face Alcaraz, the defending champion, who rarely plays with anything less than free-hitting abandon.
“You know that whatever shot you hit, he can hit a winner from there,” said Medvedev, reflecting on the threat posed by the Spaniard’s “easy power”. “So you try to make his life difficult, you try to hit the shot as good as you can so maybe he goes for it and he cannot make it.
“But that’s pretty special, because there are not many players like this. There are lot of players that if you play cross[court], there is less chance that he goes down-the-line winner etc. Carlos can do whatever, from any position – and that’s not easy to play against.”
Paul, the American 12th seed, can vouch for the truth of that analysis. After winning a marathon first set courtesy of a late break and then snatching a 2-0 lead in the second as his bold shot-making forced Alcaraz to overpress, the Queen’s Club champion appeared to have laid the foundations for another big upset. But Alcaraz found another gear, powering to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win to reach a second straight major semi-final, following his victory at last month’s French Open. If Medvedev is wary of the challenge that awaits, the feeling is mutual.
“The most difficult thing about facing Daniil, or the most special thing about him, is he can reach every ball,” said Alcaraz. “He is like a wall. Every ball bounces back. I feel like I can hit an unbelievable shot, the ball is going to bounce back.”
The question now is whether Medvedev can rebound from last year’s semi-final defeat against the Spaniard to cause another big upset. As he demonstrated against Sinner, it is the kind of challenge he relishes.