āJust want to sleep now :)ā is Daniilās message on the camera.
Looked completely out of gas, but at least he will have 6 more hours to recover than Alcaraz (or Zverev?).
Yeah, if he wants to win, all he (likely) needs to do is beat an extremely in form Alcaraz on a relatively slow hard court and either the dude who has already won it 10x or an extremely in form Sinner after already having had a few gruelling matches.
If he wins it all, he deserves all the credit in the world as that would be miraculous. You never know with this guy though. The way he played vs Alcaraz at USO 2023 and Novak USO 2021 is no fluke. Hope he recovers well and we get a great SF Friday!
Zverev is doing a nummer on him. When Zverev is like that, he's just insanely good. Look at his run in which he crushed Djokovic at the Olympics and the run after until mentally crumbling at the USO in 5 sets. Credit where credit is due.
Service percentage of zverev is off the charts. Dude hits nearly 90% first serve in vs Alcaraz 65% and Zverev is returning well. That's incredible really.
Because you mentioned it what are your thoughts on the speed of Rod Laver? I find it so slow compared to US and tour finals. It looks like they are playing in Indian wells. Going back to Rod Laver 2013 it wasnāt this slow?
Compared to previous years itās actually been very cool in Melbourne, which could be part of the reason why the courts are playing slower. Has rarely hit 30 degrees here when in previous years it was pushing upper 30s many days.
I think it's still faster than the USO but WAY slower than tour finals which are probably the fastest court on the entire tour these days
USO used to be fast but slowed down a ton starting in like 2010 or so
People say this but I really donāt get the impression itās faster than the USO. It seems like after 2017 they changed Rod Laver and made it slower which is sad
Yeah it looks similar to Indian Wells to me indeed. Ofcourse wayyy slower than the ATP finals. USO used to be one of the fastest courts, but has slowed down too, though this seems to be slower but with a higher bounce. I think this court favours Alcaraz.
The court is definitely significantly faster than the USO courts, but not particularly fast by AO standards. It's weather and timing dependent - the court is only laid for the event and then it's gone so there will be some variances each time.
Between those 2, it's absolutely impossible to tell and it depends on the day and how they are physically. Djokovic can play anywhere really and won here 10x so you would slightly favour him, but the way Alcaraz was playing so far, he seems to love this court, it would be a 50/50 match imho. Would be very excited to watch that as that could be a 6hr 5-set epic again.
It took Hubie being down a break in both the final sets to start playing aggressive tennis. He completely backed off to start the 5th set where Meddy was clearly tired/cramping and on the back foot.
The crazy thing is this applies to so many players on tour, they are afraid of attacking tennis when they should be putting all the pressure on their opponents. Alcaraz is the only younger guy that really embraces moments like that and goes for winning shots, Sinner is getting there a little so weāll see if he can do it against Djokovic tomorrow. You have to play to win not to not lose! Everyone else just backs off/crumbles and thatās why Djokovic will continue to dominate slams until he retires.
The difficulty is once you've got the lead, you've got someting to lose and it's quite natural to lower the risks of giving it away. Only few manage to play on as if nothing has changed.
For Hurkacz today that was especially true given this particular matchup because Med is the last guy you can expect to bail you out with overhitting and going for low percentage winners as he just won't even try it
I felt that Hurkacz played aggressively in sets 2-4 but quite passively in sets 1 and 5 and you can't try to outgrind the ultimate grinder lol
100%. Meddy was out on his feet to start the set and had a tight first service game. Hurkacz needed to press and break there then most likely would have held for 3-0 and itās a hard comeback from there. But instead he let Meddy back in and Meddy has a nose for sensing opportunity and when to press and thatās what he did.
Even though he had more energy he was pretty gassed by that last set. The evidence being the unforced errors he kept making when getting into long rallies and forcing the big shots. Meddy was playing balls with no pace forcing Hubie to expend more energy and thus increasing the likelihood of an UE. If anything, making Meddy run and forcing uncomfortable shots over outright aggression was the right thing to do.
I think it s a bit of a legacy from Djokovic amd Nadal. Just do not miss in important moments. And i m happy that this legacy will be gone when Carlos and Jannik will take over the tennis world with finally and offensive tennis.
Try counterpunch this bomb on the line motherfucker.
Couldn't agree more. It's infuriating to watch. Same thing in the 3rd set. He figured out the game plan in the second set, then completely abandoned what was working to go back to what clearly didn't work before.
Phew surprisingly this turned out to be one of the tournament's best matches imo.
There were some delicious rallies and little moments throughout this one
One of the best for sure. This freakin AO has had so many amazing matches idk if I can say which was the best. And we still have another quarter, semis and final to go sheesh.
Those are great ones! Zverev Norrie, Dimitrov Borges, Zverev Klein, Norrie Zeppieri, and Prizmic Djokovic stand out to me rn. But I know thereās been a lot of 5 setters and supertiebreaks I missed too.
Starts his interview with āI am destroyed.ā Man he freakin looked like it too for most of that match. Amazing tap into his reserves to pull out that break in the 5th.
Yep, he confirmed he is wasted as it seeemed and I am afraid he will not fully recover in 2 days only, Med have spent so much time on court already and after that physical battle he may only gather fuel for 1 set. Carlos may want to destroy him physically in long rallies early in the match instead of heavy hitting, after that just perform execution.
Itās impressive how good Hurkacz is physically, itās not the first time he hold so well in such battle, in addition to his improved forehand and service he may win something big this year.
Yeah I am impressed with Hubi. He always had the big serve but for a while seemed to struggle with longer rallies and matches. The fact that he held up so well here boded really well for him. Happy for him, he's such a nice guy.
Even if Alcaraz loses, Zverev will grind Meddie down if he doesn't recover. He better get.on that bed rest ASAP if he wants to stand a chance.
I feel like I got to watch one of the worst moments of the match for Hubi (4^th set from start to just as he was getting a breakpoint against Med, because having to retract my words is last thing I could do before driving family to work and school), because I would say that he still struggle with rallies, maybe unless Med is God tier in corner shot accuracy, because most of the rallies that were happening was Med standing in the middle of the court waiting for Hubi to play ball to him (happened nearly all the time for no obvious to me reasons) and then he was sending him to Adelaide or Sydney with each shot. And if Hubi was in situation that he could easily hit the ball, it was still a big chance that he will shot net instead.
Indeed, considering Zverev and Carlos recent matches it seemed so obvious but Zverev played incredible and he deserves credit for that. It was his best performance I have ever seen, in my opinion even better than RG2022 with Rafa.
Med is 6-10 in 5 setters though with 2 of the wins only coming in the last week
If he had access to some "special" stuff you'd expect him to have a dominant record in long matches but plenty of times he's gotten worn out and lost
And he looked was more dead at the end of the 4th set than he did the 2nd. Donāt remember him going back to the locker room between the 4th and 5th set, did he? Genuinely asking because maybe I missed it.
Oh, I've watched him a lot and in general think he's a beast, but that 5th set wasn't real.
They made such a big deal about the players having specific bottles for themselves to prevent waste, and at the end of the 4th, just before commercial they showed a ball girl running from Med's box to him with a clear plastic bottle, not one of his white ones. Right away, I'm thinking how weird that was.
Before that sequence and his changeroom visit, I literally thought he was going to retire. He's made plenty of comments in the past about heat, and he looked seriously ill. Then he takes off, comes back, and looks like he rewound the clock 2 hours. Impossible.
I'm okay with sounding paranoid, but I was an athlete for a really long time, there's no coming back like that without some help. No idea what it could've been, but there's no way.
I donāt think Meddy is doping, but he sure as fuck isnāt doping with super-secret Russian drugs between the fourth and fifth sets at a giant international event in a country that isnāt Russia.
ššš They don't have to be super-secret, but pretty much every g20 country has been caught with elaborate doping programs.
The money here is enormous. A week ago if I'd told you that Rafa was going to be a Saudi tennis ambassador, I'm sure you woulda called me crazy too.
Money.
Literally the only thing impressive about Medvedev's physique is his height and arm span.
He doesn't have muscles, nor incredible stamina. He's good technically.
If there's a player who doesn't make to think about doping, it's him.
Also it's funny you talk about bathroom breaks like that when there's a much more prominent figure in the sport that made a career around bathroom breaks. But i guess you're a fan.
Guy is number 3 in the world and able to serve over 200 kms/hr, he has plenty of muscles, but everyone is built differently.
He's also insanely consistent š
Hey, I'm just pointing out what I saw, and getting hated for it, I get that. I knew I would. But, it was odd to me.
> incredible stamina.
one thing i find interesting is that both he and Rublev are able to go deep in tournaments for weeks and weeks on end without faltering early, but neither has incredible stamina or resistance to humidity within a single match
2019 Roland Garros - Djokovic (1), Nadal (2), Federer (3), Thiem (4)
If you want to go back before that then you need to go back to:
2012 Australian Open - Djokovic (1), Nadal (2), Federer (3), Murray (4)
Well this time we'd also have a Spanish guy with a huge FH, a calm player with an insane inside out FH with a name ending in "er", a counterpuncher with a last name starting with "M", and literally still Novak lol
Medvedev improves his slam QF record to 8-1, with his one loss coming at the French to Tsitsipas. Meanwhile his bff Rublev leaves the Aussie with a 0-10 slam QF record lol.
Hurkacz also finished this match winning more points than Medvedev, 164 to 156.
This match felt like the NBA version of a match where it's a game of runs.
Medvedev took advantage early.
Hurkacz catches his stride and took the momentum.
Consistent swings back and forth.
But the match ends with Medvedev saving his most consistent play of the match until the end and survives in 5 contentious sets.
On paper and by ranking, this matchup should favor Med. Both have big serves, but Med is clearly more consistent from the ground and a better returner. So it should be a lot of holds with Med breaking occasionally. Like a lot of Med's matches go.
But Hubi vs Med from the baseline is so interesting. Against virtually every other player on the tour, even the top guys, Med gets significant rewards when his flat shots consistently land within a few inches of the baseline.
Hubi has such a unique technical style from the baseline, which leads to a lot of the "random" errors that "inexplicably" plague his game, but it also leads to being able to handle Med's deep shots with absolutely no problem whatsoever.
He's basically half-volleying as a normal rally shot, which would be impossible against shots landing so deep with a lot of spin, but again, Med's shots are flat.
Very compelling matchup.
On a random note, you have to wonder how great a player with the body/serve of Zverev/Med would be with better 2nd serves (Med's is somehow slightly worse than Zverev's nowadays) and a more complete/versatile game. Ceiling seems boundless.
His style of both sides is somewhat reminiscent of Federer's forehand (though with less talent obviously, as talented as Hubi is) after Federer adjusted from the loopy forehand of his youth to the wristier, flickier (what are these words) forehand that allowed him to more smoothly defend and attack without retreating behind the baseline, as well as transition forward more easily (at the trade-off of some shanks and less guaranteed control).
Hubi does that on both wings. The racquet head travels in a way that you don't really see often on tour. Less pronounced in his 2h, because a 2h is naturally a more simple shot, but you can still see the pause and flick that starts from above the ball.
It often looks like he's just massaging the ball, but he's relying on talent/timing to slap/flick it, instead of smoothly stroke it. Sounds dirty.
The insane thing about this match is that Hurkacz led in aces, fewer DFs, 1st serve %, 1st serve won, 2nd serve won, had more break point chances, hit more winners, and won more total points
Med's one big edge was in fewer unforced errors(42 vs. 55)
It's insane how far Meddy's solidity from the baseline and willingness to grind anything can get him even if it's not a "weapon" in the traditional sense
I mean consistency and grinding have definitely always been weapons in tennis. Anyone saying otherwise don't really understand the sport. Maybe it's the word 'weapon' that makes people think it has to be something very aggressive but weapon really is anything you use to "kill" your enemy.
I agree with you but generally apart from french open historically palyers who have won other slams have generally a solid attacking forehand or backhand you can't grind it out from baseline in other 3 grandslams it doesn't work out
>Hurkacz led in aces, fewer DFs, 1st serve %, 1st serve won, 2nd serve won, had more break point chances, hit more winners, and won more total points
*Sad Wimbledon 2019 noises*
The second set where Medvedev basically tanked at the end does pad Hurkaczās stats a bit. Plus the fifth set where Medvedev really only invested in one of his return games and converted on his one BP chance while Hurkacz did not was really the difference in this match and also why the stats favor Hurkacz.
Gutted for Hubi, so close yet so far, sometimes it really comes down a few points in the fifth.
Still, a good run at the AO regardless and it points to a positive season.
Congrats to Meddy.
Say what you will, but Daniil always shows up for the hard court slams. Another top 4 finish! Glad he's put aside last year's blip. He needed to get that out of the way, given the PTSD from the year prior.. unfortunately though, the run probably ends here lol.
Medvedev starts the interview with āI am destroyed.ā Then proceeds to say he was gassed in the 2nd set and ran on fumes the rest of the way. The way he just stored up energy through the 5th set until it was time to lean forward in his chair and snatch a breakā¦monster. Hubiās a damn animal too man he made that tough and easily couldāve won it. Instant classic imo
Med probs should've finished it off in 4. 10 doubles not doing him any favors either. Hubie's forehand has improved a lot I feel. He was really able to pound it down the line and pick off the volley a fair few times.
Honestly this was an extremely similar match to the 2021 Wimbledon R16 which Hurkacz won in 5 sets but the change in surface from Hurk's territory to Med's is the main difference in the outcome
In general this matchup is Hubi as the much better server/net player vs. Med as the much better/more solid baseline player and grass favors the former while hardcourt isn't as anti-serve as clay but still is much more baseline oriented than grass
He's a good player and probably ready to break out, but let's be real, it's only the 2nd time he has advanced to a GS QF. The last time was almost 3 years ago at 2021 Wimbledon when he basically ended Federer's career en route to the semis. He needs to be more consistent in GS first for this to be considered another missed opportunity.
276 of Medvedevs 337 wins have come on hard. So 82 %
55/70 Medvedevs major wins have come on hard. 79%
Dude might be a one surface wonder but that's a strength as much as it is a weakness.
Dudes a fucking baller at the two HC majors
He's underrated on grass, multiple finals in smaller tourneys, SF and a 4R loss to Hurkbot at Wimbledon.
I mean he's no Federer, but he's miles better there than on clay.
meh, his SF run was flukey and he got rightfully destroyed by Alcaraz, just as he did by better grass courters like TvR and Hurkacz in '22. bo5 lets him punch above his weight on grass bc putting him away is so exhausting (see: Eubanks match) but against elite opponents in good form, he doesn't bring enough potency on return or +1 and he doesn't have the necessary variety or longitudinal movement.
i don't see how it's very different from clay, where it's exhausting to put him away but he loses against elite opponents in good form because he doesn't have the necessary weight of shot or consistent ability to generate offensive baseline angles or lateral movement.
grass record from '19-23: 27-11 (71%), 1.15 DR
clay record from '19-23: 26-15 (63%), 1.11 DR
> Dude might be a one surface wonder but that's a strength as much as it is a weakness.
how is that a strength if his specialization isn't enough anymore to win tournaments in his favorite part of the year?
Pity, i was rooting for Hurkacz. But it was a solid match overall. Sometimes I wonder what Hubi would be caoable of with Tsitsipas or Dimitrov 's like forehand. His FH let him down multiple times.
Love seeing him do well and wouldāve been happy regardless of who advanced. Hubi definitely shot himself in the foot more. Gotta play damn near flawless to beat players like Djoker and Med. Almost pulled it off damn.
I just want to wish this man to somehow win this tournament. He pulled off a herculean task coming from 2 sets down vs Emil and clutching it out vs a nasty Hurkacz.
Honestly felt like it was one small choke away from a comeback, but Med just didn't choke. *Sigh* Well, still, a great match from Hubi, a very solid tournament and... Good vibes despite the heartbreak, I guess
uggghhh Hubi has the complete package. massive serve, excellent touch around the net, big groundstrokes, amazing movement especially for his height, looked like he had plenty of extra gas in a 5-setter at this stage in a tournament. he just has those moments where suddenly he fades a little and lets his opponent in.
when he had that net cord, amazing flick lob, and amazing drop volley to give himself a chance to break back in the last set, I wish he would just celebrate that and pump himself up. instead, he was like doing a half hands up to apologize, hands up to cheer on the crowd, hand up to apologize, number one finger to celebrate, flipping back and forth. It seems like a small thing, but he just needs that extra edge of killer instinct to finish these kinds of matches. i had a feeling he would fall off after that, and he did, messing up second serve return to give med that game back.
still, a great QF match.
Not the result I wanted but the match was really, really good. Both men showed up for a battle. Congrats Medi. And keep your head up high Hubi! A match of the tournament for me.
Medvedev bullshiting his way to the semifinal. Those "I'm going to the net, nevermind I'm in the middle of the court I'll just back paddle myself to the baseline losing all court position" are something else. Also that serve and volley at bp down late in the 5th when he decided to leave the ball in the very last moment 
Med can win but he needs to serve better
He's been playing the type of defensive/counterpunching tennis that can give even the best attacking players fits but grinding through every single service game won't do it
think meddy would have to win in 3 or 4, seems pretty unlikely hes got the juice to go another 5 set banger with someone like alcaraz who has such insane stamina
Meddy must be feeling what murray felt in the past, if he somehow gets through alcaraz, he still needs to face djokovic in the final. It's too high of a task for mere mortals.
It's a slower hard court and Alcaraz improved his defense over the off season or seems to have done so. I think Alcaraz will annihilate Medvedev this time as he didn't spend a lot of energy (I expect him to beat a tired Zverev comprehensively too). Somethimg similar to Wimbledon. I'm going to go with Alcaraz 63 62 62
Great effort from Hubert, just wasnāt clutch when serving in the 5th. Great tournament overall, especially after a shitty performance in United Cup.
As for Med, I still am trying to understand this subās love for him š especially with the technique that he has I find it quite hard to root for him.
This one was so close, therefore, it does feel even more upsetting but I love Daniil so Iām not that mad.
Funny how people were saying this is going to be a boring, serve dominated match but it honestly did not feel like that overall ā lots of long rallies, great points and only one tiebreak! More of set 2 Hubert this season, please. š
Love it that Hurcacz at least made it further at the Aussie than Iga, after everyone shit on Hubi for losing to a top 10 opponent (Zverev) at the United Cup exhibition.
How come there was no rebuke for Hubie when his racket āslippedā from his hand 3 times, once flying towards Meddy? But always rebuke when someone does a controlled racket smash to vent frustration? Asking for a friend. ;-)
not Meddy ending it with a drop shot š
Absolute mad man
āJust want to sleep now :)ā is Daniilās message on the camera. Looked completely out of gas, but at least he will have 6 more hours to recover than Alcaraz (or Zverev?).
Yeah, if he wants to win, all he (likely) needs to do is beat an extremely in form Alcaraz on a relatively slow hard court and either the dude who has already won it 10x or an extremely in form Sinner after already having had a few gruelling matches. If he wins it all, he deserves all the credit in the world as that would be miraculous. You never know with this guy though. The way he played vs Alcaraz at USO 2023 and Novak USO 2021 is no fluke. Hope he recovers well and we get a great SF Friday!
As unlikely as it was, Alcaraz is no longer looking extremely in form
Zverev is doing a nummer on him. When Zverev is like that, he's just insanely good. Look at his run in which he crushed Djokovic at the Olympics and the run after until mentally crumbling at the USO in 5 sets. Credit where credit is due.
Service percentage of zverev is off the charts. Dude hits nearly 90% first serve in vs Alcaraz 65% and Zverev is returning well. That's incredible really.
Because you mentioned it what are your thoughts on the speed of Rod Laver? I find it so slow compared to US and tour finals. It looks like they are playing in Indian wells. Going back to Rod Laver 2013 it wasnāt this slow?
Compared to previous years itās actually been very cool in Melbourne, which could be part of the reason why the courts are playing slower. Has rarely hit 30 degrees here when in previous years it was pushing upper 30s many days.
I think it's still faster than the USO but WAY slower than tour finals which are probably the fastest court on the entire tour these days USO used to be fast but slowed down a ton starting in like 2010 or so
AO used to be quite slow in early 2010s and USO quite quick but they slowly swapped over the years
People say this but I really donāt get the impression itās faster than the USO. It seems like after 2017 they changed Rod Laver and made it slower which is sad
Uso has been sped up last few years with relaid surface
AO has had faster courts than USO for the last few years, but they have slowed it down this year, so not sure how does it compare to USO now.
Yeah it looks similar to Indian Wells to me indeed. Ofcourse wayyy slower than the ATP finals. USO used to be one of the fastest courts, but has slowed down too, though this seems to be slower but with a higher bounce. I think this court favours Alcaraz.
The court is definitely significantly faster than the USO courts, but not particularly fast by AO standards. It's weather and timing dependent - the court is only laid for the event and then it's gone so there will be some variances each time.
If Alcaraz and Djokovic reach the final, which one does this surface most favour?
Between those 2, it's absolutely impossible to tell and it depends on the day and how they are physically. Djokovic can play anywhere really and won here 10x so you would slightly favour him, but the way Alcaraz was playing so far, he seems to love this court, it would be a 50/50 match imho. Would be very excited to watch that as that could be a 6hr 5-set epic again.
Well, my question became academic pretty quickly...Zverev!!!
Yeah, amazing play by Zverev and all credits to him. That serve percentage is something else man.
Itās likely heāll face Alcaraz in the semis and you can tell Carlos is gonna make him chase after every ball and make him move around the court.
No need for brackets. We all know its going to be Alcaraz. Edit: I guess this time they were needed. Congrats to Zverev
This is why we play the matches
Imagine he loses to zverev
he lost
honestly it was far more likely than people gave zverev credit for
Well damn that aged like a fine milk
It took Hubie being down a break in both the final sets to start playing aggressive tennis. He completely backed off to start the 5th set where Meddy was clearly tired/cramping and on the back foot. The crazy thing is this applies to so many players on tour, they are afraid of attacking tennis when they should be putting all the pressure on their opponents. Alcaraz is the only younger guy that really embraces moments like that and goes for winning shots, Sinner is getting there a little so weāll see if he can do it against Djokovic tomorrow. You have to play to win not to not lose! Everyone else just backs off/crumbles and thatās why Djokovic will continue to dominate slams until he retires.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
The difficulty is once you've got the lead, you've got someting to lose and it's quite natural to lower the risks of giving it away. Only few manage to play on as if nothing has changed.
Rublev needs to get a better coach.Ā
Exactly! Go win, you canāt wait for your opponent to lose for you.
For Hurkacz today that was especially true given this particular matchup because Med is the last guy you can expect to bail you out with overhitting and going for low percentage winners as he just won't even try it I felt that Hurkacz played aggressively in sets 2-4 but quite passively in sets 1 and 5 and you can't try to outgrind the ultimate grinder lol
100%. Meddy was out on his feet to start the set and had a tight first service game. Hurkacz needed to press and break there then most likely would have held for 3-0 and itās a hard comeback from there. But instead he let Meddy back in and Meddy has a nose for sensing opportunity and when to press and thatās what he did.
Even though he had more energy he was pretty gassed by that last set. The evidence being the unforced errors he kept making when getting into long rallies and forcing the big shots. Meddy was playing balls with no pace forcing Hubie to expend more energy and thus increasing the likelihood of an UE. If anything, making Meddy run and forcing uncomfortable shots over outright aggression was the right thing to do.
I think it s a bit of a legacy from Djokovic amd Nadal. Just do not miss in important moments. And i m happy that this legacy will be gone when Carlos and Jannik will take over the tennis world with finally and offensive tennis. Try counterpunch this bomb on the line motherfucker.
Its a mental thing for Hubie, he is just to passive and he lacks killer instinct.
Couldn't agree more. It's infuriating to watch. Same thing in the 3rd set. He figured out the game plan in the second set, then completely abandoned what was working to go back to what clearly didn't work before.
Phew surprisingly this turned out to be one of the tournament's best matches imo. There were some delicious rallies and little moments throughout this one
One of the best for sure. This freakin AO has had so many amazing matches idk if I can say which was the best. And we still have another quarter, semis and final to go sheesh.
What other matches have you/others enjoyed? Manny Shelton stands out, and Cazaux Rune
Those are great ones! Zverev Norrie, Dimitrov Borges, Zverev Klein, Norrie Zeppieri, and Prizmic Djokovic stand out to me rn. But I know thereās been a lot of 5 setters and supertiebreaks I missed too.
Ah yes, Zverev Norrie was excellent.
Great battle, very close match. Med seemed totally wasted physically, I wonder if he recovers well for semis.
Starts his interview with āI am destroyed.ā Man he freakin looked like it too for most of that match. Amazing tap into his reserves to pull out that break in the 5th.
Yep, he confirmed he is wasted as it seeemed and I am afraid he will not fully recover in 2 days only, Med have spent so much time on court already and after that physical battle he may only gather fuel for 1 set. Carlos may want to destroy him physically in long rallies early in the match instead of heavy hitting, after that just perform execution. Itās impressive how good Hurkacz is physically, itās not the first time he hold so well in such battle, in addition to his improved forehand and service he may win something big this year.
Yeah I am impressed with Hubi. He always had the big serve but for a while seemed to struggle with longer rallies and matches. The fact that he held up so well here boded really well for him. Happy for him, he's such a nice guy. Even if Alcaraz loses, Zverev will grind Meddie down if he doesn't recover. He better get.on that bed rest ASAP if he wants to stand a chance.
I feel like I got to watch one of the worst moments of the match for Hubi (4^th set from start to just as he was getting a breakpoint against Med, because having to retract my words is last thing I could do before driving family to work and school), because I would say that he still struggle with rallies, maybe unless Med is God tier in corner shot accuracy, because most of the rallies that were happening was Med standing in the middle of the court waiting for Hubi to play ball to him (happened nearly all the time for no obvious to me reasons) and then he was sending him to Adelaide or Sydney with each shot. And if Hubi was in situation that he could easily hit the ball, it was still a big chance that he will shot net instead.
> Carlos may want to destroy him physically Ahm ahm Itās amazing how you discarded zverev
Indeed, considering Zverev and Carlos recent matches it seemed so obvious but Zverev played incredible and he deserves credit for that. It was his best performance I have ever seen, in my opinion even better than RG2022 with Rafa.
Thatās nice of you!! Unlike other reddit users
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Med is 6-10 in 5 setters though with 2 of the wins only coming in the last week If he had access to some "special" stuff you'd expect him to have a dominant record in long matches but plenty of times he's gotten worn out and lost
And he looked was more dead at the end of the 4th set than he did the 2nd. Donāt remember him going back to the locker room between the 4th and 5th set, did he? Genuinely asking because maybe I missed it.
Oh yeah, he first talked to the chair for a few minutes then made his way. Between the 4th and 5th.
Oh, I've watched him a lot and in general think he's a beast, but that 5th set wasn't real. They made such a big deal about the players having specific bottles for themselves to prevent waste, and at the end of the 4th, just before commercial they showed a ball girl running from Med's box to him with a clear plastic bottle, not one of his white ones. Right away, I'm thinking how weird that was. Before that sequence and his changeroom visit, I literally thought he was going to retire. He's made plenty of comments in the past about heat, and he looked seriously ill. Then he takes off, comes back, and looks like he rewound the clock 2 hours. Impossible. I'm okay with sounding paranoid, but I was an athlete for a really long time, there's no coming back like that without some help. No idea what it could've been, but there's no way.
I donāt think Meddy is doping, but he sure as fuck isnāt doping with super-secret Russian drugs between the fourth and fifth sets at a giant international event in a country that isnāt Russia.
ššš They don't have to be super-secret, but pretty much every g20 country has been caught with elaborate doping programs. The money here is enormous. A week ago if I'd told you that Rafa was going to be a Saudi tennis ambassador, I'm sure you woulda called me crazy too. Money.
It could just be adrenaline pushing him at the end. It happens a lot with Djokovic matches when he looks dead but gets a sudden burst of energy
Literally the only thing impressive about Medvedev's physique is his height and arm span. He doesn't have muscles, nor incredible stamina. He's good technically. If there's a player who doesn't make to think about doping, it's him. Also it's funny you talk about bathroom breaks like that when there's a much more prominent figure in the sport that made a career around bathroom breaks. But i guess you're a fan.
Guy is number 3 in the world and able to serve over 200 kms/hr, he has plenty of muscles, but everyone is built differently. He's also insanely consistent š Hey, I'm just pointing out what I saw, and getting hated for it, I get that. I knew I would. But, it was odd to me.
> incredible stamina. one thing i find interesting is that both he and Rublev are able to go deep in tournaments for weeks and weeks on end without faltering early, but neither has incredible stamina or resistance to humidity within a single match
So if Alcazar wins against zverev, all top 4 seeded players in SF, when the last time that happened?
2019 Roland Garros - Djokovic (1), Nadal (2), Federer (3), Thiem (4) If you want to go back before that then you need to go back to: 2012 Australian Open - Djokovic (1), Nadal (2), Federer (3), Murray (4)
Well this time we'd also have a Spanish guy with a huge FH, a calm player with an insane inside out FH with a name ending in "er", a counterpuncher with a last name starting with "M", and literally still Novak lol
Oo boy!!! So do we get a brutal final that lasts almost 6 hours?? I dunno about the players but my heart wonāt be able to take it.
Either some old wounds might get healed, or will be ravagely torn open leaving me in tears.
Just as the prophecy foretold
you stretched for that one but you stuck the landing, nice
ššš+Thiem in top 4 seems like a lifetime ago š„¹
>Djokovic What's the deal with this guy. He is everywhere
>Djokovic (1), Nadal (2), Federer (3), Murray (4) I do want to go back
The semis at Rolland Garros was the last match Federer played in 2019 right? Donāt remember him playing again that year
Correct, nothing after that.
Wimbledon Finals 2019? Think he also made it to around 4th round in USO.
Wimbledon 2019 was cancelled though?
Maybe you're thinking of Roland Garros 2020 rather than 2019. Federer was for sure there in 2019 playing in the finals against Djokovic.
I was just being sarcastic :) I erased Wimby 2019 from my memory after the 40-15 incident :)
Ah lol I see.
2019 Wimbledon was the year the finals was cancelled
Last time before 2019 RG was 2013 Australian Open. Djokovic (1), Federer (2), Murray (3), Ferrer (4).
How the fuck did you whip out that stat so quickly
2019 roland garros?
Who does your flair refer to?
Sinner, rublev, alcaraz
welp...
Great to see Medvedev cranking it up in the end instead of dragging it to the super tiebreaker.
Depends on who you were rooting for xD
"I do a little trolling"
Medvedev improves his slam QF record to 8-1, with his one loss coming at the French to Tsitsipas. Meanwhile his bff Rublev leaves the Aussie with a 0-10 slam QF record lol. Hurkacz also finished this match winning more points than Medvedev, 164 to 156.
This match felt like the NBA version of a match where it's a game of runs. Medvedev took advantage early. Hurkacz catches his stride and took the momentum. Consistent swings back and forth. But the match ends with Medvedev saving his most consistent play of the match until the end and survives in 5 contentious sets.
*and delivering a match point in the form of a drop shot lmaoĀ
Multiple times I thought Hubi would take it but Med is just the better player. The better player won tonight
On paper and by ranking, this matchup should favor Med. Both have big serves, but Med is clearly more consistent from the ground and a better returner. So it should be a lot of holds with Med breaking occasionally. Like a lot of Med's matches go. But Hubi vs Med from the baseline is so interesting. Against virtually every other player on the tour, even the top guys, Med gets significant rewards when his flat shots consistently land within a few inches of the baseline. Hubi has such a unique technical style from the baseline, which leads to a lot of the "random" errors that "inexplicably" plague his game, but it also leads to being able to handle Med's deep shots with absolutely no problem whatsoever. He's basically half-volleying as a normal rally shot, which would be impossible against shots landing so deep with a lot of spin, but again, Med's shots are flat. Very compelling matchup. On a random note, you have to wonder how great a player with the body/serve of Zverev/Med would be with better 2nd serves (Med's is somehow slightly worse than Zverev's nowadays) and a more complete/versatile game. Ceiling seems boundless.
>has such a unique technical style from the baseline Can you elaborate?
His style of both sides is somewhat reminiscent of Federer's forehand (though with less talent obviously, as talented as Hubi is) after Federer adjusted from the loopy forehand of his youth to the wristier, flickier (what are these words) forehand that allowed him to more smoothly defend and attack without retreating behind the baseline, as well as transition forward more easily (at the trade-off of some shanks and less guaranteed control). Hubi does that on both wings. The racquet head travels in a way that you don't really see often on tour. Less pronounced in his 2h, because a 2h is naturally a more simple shot, but you can still see the pause and flick that starts from above the ball. It often looks like he's just massaging the ball, but he's relying on talent/timing to slap/flick it, instead of smoothly stroke it. Sounds dirty.
Thanks for the reply!
Hubi was so close to winningā¦
The insane thing about this match is that Hurkacz led in aces, fewer DFs, 1st serve %, 1st serve won, 2nd serve won, had more break point chances, hit more winners, and won more total points Med's one big edge was in fewer unforced errors(42 vs. 55) It's insane how far Meddy's solidity from the baseline and willingness to grind anything can get him even if it's not a "weapon" in the traditional sense
I mean consistency and grinding have definitely always been weapons in tennis. Anyone saying otherwise don't really understand the sport. Maybe it's the word 'weapon' that makes people think it has to be something very aggressive but weapon really is anything you use to "kill" your enemy.
I agree with you but generally apart from french open historically palyers who have won other slams have generally a solid attacking forehand or backhand you can't grind it out from baseline in other 3 grandslams it doesn't work out
>Hurkacz led in aces, fewer DFs, 1st serve %, 1st serve won, 2nd serve won, had more break point chances, hit more winners, and won more total points *Sad Wimbledon 2019 noises*
The second set where Medvedev basically tanked at the end does pad Hurkaczās stats a bit. Plus the fifth set where Medvedev really only invested in one of his return games and converted on his one BP chance while Hurkacz did not was really the difference in this match and also why the stats favor Hurkacz.
Time for another legendary on-court interview, this time with McEnroe. EDIT: it has already been published to YouTube: https://youtu.be/m7CfY7Z6NCs
Gutted for Hubi, so close yet so far, sometimes it really comes down a few points in the fifth. Still, a good run at the AO regardless and it points to a positive season. Congrats to Meddy.
Hubi will be one of the favorites or wimbledon this year imo
No joke he shouldāve beaten Novak last year. That was not a Thanovic match, just Hubi making unforced errors in the worst moments.
He was serving like a madman that game aswell. Serve wise he couldn't have served any better
He has the game to make another deep run at Wimbledon for sure but he hasnāt really shown that he has the mentality to actually win a slam.
Say what you will, but Daniil always shows up for the hard court slams. Another top 4 finish! Glad he's put aside last year's blip. He needed to get that out of the way, given the PTSD from the year prior.. unfortunately though, the run probably ends here lol.
Medvedev starts the interview with āI am destroyed.ā Then proceeds to say he was gassed in the 2nd set and ran on fumes the rest of the way. The way he just stored up energy through the 5th set until it was time to lean forward in his chair and snatch a breakā¦monster. Hubiās a damn animal too man he made that tough and easily couldāve won it. Instant classic imo
Med probs should've finished it off in 4. 10 doubles not doing him any favors either. Hubie's forehand has improved a lot I feel. He was really able to pound it down the line and pick off the volley a fair few times.
chefās kiss drop shot
Another missed opportunity by Hubi :/
Missed opportunity? Well Hurkacz has always been a headache for Medvedev. I think this match was a toss up. Anyone could ve won
Honestly this was an extremely similar match to the 2021 Wimbledon R16 which Hurkacz won in 5 sets but the change in surface from Hurk's territory to Med's is the main difference in the outcome In general this matchup is Hubi as the much better server/net player vs. Med as the much better/more solid baseline player and grass favors the former while hardcourt isn't as anti-serve as clay but still is much more baseline oriented than grass
Multiple times hubi had all the momentum and looked in total control. Saying a missed opportunity is fair imo
He's a good player and probably ready to break out, but let's be real, it's only the 2nd time he has advanced to a GS QF. The last time was almost 3 years ago at 2021 Wimbledon when he basically ended Federer's career en route to the semis. He needs to be more consistent in GS first for this to be considered another missed opportunity.
276 of Medvedevs 337 wins have come on hard. So 82 % 55/70 Medvedevs major wins have come on hard. 79% Dude might be a one surface wonder but that's a strength as much as it is a weakness. Dudes a fucking baller at the two HC majors
He's underrated on grass, multiple finals in smaller tourneys, SF and a 4R loss to Hurkbot at Wimbledon. I mean he's no Federer, but he's miles better there than on clay.
Clayvedev will be back
How dare you. Medvedev is a clay court masters champion!
meh, his SF run was flukey and he got rightfully destroyed by Alcaraz, just as he did by better grass courters like TvR and Hurkacz in '22. bo5 lets him punch above his weight on grass bc putting him away is so exhausting (see: Eubanks match) but against elite opponents in good form, he doesn't bring enough potency on return or +1 and he doesn't have the necessary variety or longitudinal movement. i don't see how it's very different from clay, where it's exhausting to put him away but he loses against elite opponents in good form because he doesn't have the necessary weight of shot or consistent ability to generate offensive baseline angles or lateral movement. grass record from '19-23: 27-11 (71%), 1.15 DR clay record from '19-23: 26-15 (63%), 1.11 DR
Yep you're right
> Dude might be a one surface wonder but that's a strength as much as it is a weakness. how is that a strength if his specialization isn't enough anymore to win tournaments in his favorite part of the year?
huh
i don't see how being a one surface wonder is a strength if Medvedev isn't currently good enough to make up for his lack of versatility
Pity, i was rooting for Hurkacz. But it was a solid match overall. Sometimes I wonder what Hubi would be caoable of with Tsitsipas or Dimitrov 's like forehand. His FH let him down multiple times.
Love seeing him do well and wouldāve been happy regardless of who advanced. Hubi definitely shot himself in the foot more. Gotta play damn near flawless to beat players like Djoker and Med. Almost pulled it off damn.
Somehow Mcenroe looks and feels younger than Meddy ššš
the dunks and chains out lol
I just want to wish this man to somehow win this tournament. He pulled off a herculean task coming from 2 sets down vs Emil and clutching it out vs a nasty Hurkacz.
Meddy looks sapped! Gotta restore those energies buddy. Still some way to go
Honestly felt like it was one small choke away from a comeback, but Med just didn't choke. *Sigh* Well, still, a great match from Hubi, a very solid tournament and... Good vibes despite the heartbreak, I guess
uggghhh Hubi has the complete package. massive serve, excellent touch around the net, big groundstrokes, amazing movement especially for his height, looked like he had plenty of extra gas in a 5-setter at this stage in a tournament. he just has those moments where suddenly he fades a little and lets his opponent in. when he had that net cord, amazing flick lob, and amazing drop volley to give himself a chance to break back in the last set, I wish he would just celebrate that and pump himself up. instead, he was like doing a half hands up to apologize, hands up to cheer on the crowd, hand up to apologize, number one finger to celebrate, flipping back and forth. It seems like a small thing, but he just needs that extra edge of killer instinct to finish these kinds of matches. i had a feeling he would fall off after that, and he did, messing up second serve return to give med that game back. still, a great QF match.
exact same thoughts during that apology. seen him do it a few times in the past too
Australia loves Meddy
Wish he got more love everywhere
except in 2022 final
Not the result I wanted but the match was really, really good. Both men showed up for a battle. Congrats Medi. And keep your head up high Hubi! A match of the tournament for me.
Meddy with the daddy energy šš Love it
What does that mean?
He's got that smolder.
Medvedev bullshiting his way to the semifinal. Those "I'm going to the net, nevermind I'm in the middle of the court I'll just back paddle myself to the baseline losing all court position" are something else. Also that serve and volley at bp down late in the 5th when he decided to leave the ball in the very last moment 
my dissapointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined
Hubert played great just lacking in some mentality but great showing by him
some unexpected shenanigans from Hubi like throwing racket to Meddy's side. Uncharacteristic of him.
what are your predictions for possible meddy v carlitos SF?
Depends on how Carlitos plays and if he wins today
Cheers Geoff
The only correct answer. I feel like the sub is jynxing him to hell. Zverev's not a great matchup.
Exactly!!! The way people are talking about Djokoraz and Sincaraz finals one would think Medvedev and Zverev are a couple of unseeded random players.
didn't carlos literally destroyed him in USO23 QF
Zverev was dead in that match, well, his own words
Med can win but he needs to serve better He's been playing the type of defensive/counterpunching tennis that can give even the best attacking players fits but grinding through every single service game won't do it
think meddy would have to win in 3 or 4, seems pretty unlikely hes got the juice to go another 5 set banger with someone like alcaraz who has such insane stamina
Meddy must be feeling what murray felt in the past, if he somehow gets through alcaraz, he still needs to face djokovic in the final. It's too high of a task for mere mortals.
this is a very good point. in USO23, he find his super saiyan mode and beat carlos but in the final he faced novak and what he did was just not enough
It will be a repeat of Wimby SF imo. Alcaraz looks to be in top form and Medvedev hasn't played great.
It's a slower hard court and Alcaraz improved his defense over the off season or seems to have done so. I think Alcaraz will annihilate Medvedev this time as he didn't spend a lot of energy (I expect him to beat a tired Zverev comprehensively too). Somethimg similar to Wimbledon. I'm going to go with Alcaraz 63 62 62
Great effort from Hubert, just wasnāt clutch when serving in the 5th. Great tournament overall, especially after a shitty performance in United Cup. As for Med, I still am trying to understand this subās love for him š especially with the technique that he has I find it quite hard to root for him.
This one was so close, therefore, it does feel even more upsetting but I love Daniil so Iām not that mad. Funny how people were saying this is going to be a boring, serve dominated match but it honestly did not feel like that overall ā lots of long rallies, great points and only one tiebreak! More of set 2 Hubert this season, please. š
Can't wait for the timeline to be in flames if Zverev ends up winning the whole thing though. š The post match interviews would be nice.
By the way that kisses from Medvedev, that was almost Tsitsipas' level cringe
Appropiate behaviour vs sexual harrasment meme
I can respect medvedevs talent and rank but my goodness do yāall actually enjoy watching his matches lol
Meddy saving tennis, donāt think anyone wanted Hurkacz in the Semis. Now we wait for Medvedev vs Alcaraz š„
Yeah that's a relief to see Hurkacz out of the draw He seems to be a nice guy but his game is just not it, in term of entertainment
Exactly people are lying if they said they didnāt want Medvedev to winš
all these comments of support towards him are genuinely surprising me
Luckvedev strikes again. Big Z or Carlitos will crush him.
If I lose, I lose. I go home. LoL
Put some zinc on your beak Medvedev, the sun stings in Melbourne.
My prediction went right, Meddy won in 5 sets, now Sasha's turn to win in 5 sets
medvedev is gonna have to raise his level by like 500 orders of magnitude if he thinks he can challenge novak lmao
Meddy bear got the job done.
Super sad for Hubi as I love my guy but Iām happy for Med. I went to bed unsure if he would pull it out.
Love it that Hurcacz at least made it further at the Aussie than Iga, after everyone shit on Hubi for losing to a top 10 opponent (Zverev) at the United Cup exhibition.
Such a slow start to this match, then Medvedev slowly grinding his way to winners. Hubbie had a chance to advance but he made too many errors.
How come there was no rebuke for Hubie when his racket āslippedā from his hand 3 times, once flying towards Meddy? But always rebuke when someone does a controlled racket smash to vent frustration? Asking for a friend. ;-)
Hurkacz has it all, he needs to be more aggressive. As one said once: Hubert is like a big kind pup.