Daniil Medvedev’s Stunning Victory over Jannik Sinner to Reach Wimbledon 2024 Semifinals

After losing five straight matches to Jannik Sinner, Daniil Medvedev shocked the world No. 1 by winning 6-7 (7), 6-4, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3 to advance to his second consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal.

The former world No. 1 defeated Sinner in his first six meetings, but during the past 12 months, he has battled against his Italian opponent, most notably in the Australian Open final, when he lost after two sets. Tuesday, after trailing a set, the fifth-seeded Medvedev overcame the top seed to get it to the Center Court roof in precisely four hours.

During his first four matches at the Championships this year, Medvedev performed admirably. His only misstep occurred in the second round against Alexandre Muller, where the 28-year-old almost lost two sets to the formidable Frenchman before storming back in four. After recovering from a similar setback in a rain-affected third round match against Jan-Lennard Struff, he faced Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round and was only eight games into the match when the No. 10 seed was forced to quit due to a slip on the grass.

The 2021 US Open champion made it to the Wimbledon final, losing to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. Should the Spaniard defeat American Tommy Paul, who has been on a tear, the two could meet again in the semifinals. However, Medvedev must first overcome Sinner, the defending champion of the Australian Open, the most reliable player on the circuit, and someone who has clearly had his number since last fall.

Though it was difficult to recall a period in the past when Sinner found it difficult to win sets, let alone matches, against Medvedev, the 22-year-old went out to change that head-to-head in the China Open finals, where he achieved his first victory against the Russian. He won his first major title in Melbourne after repeating the outcome twice more in the next two months in Vienna and at the Nitto ATP Finals. He defeated Novak Djokovic, the defending champion, and Medvedev in back-to-back sets, with the latter coming within two games of winning the third set.

After defeating Medvedev in just three games in the semifinals of the Miami Open, Sinner went on to win his second Masters 1000 title. He also became the world’s top seed at Roland Garros after making it to the semifinals.

Sinner had a smooth transition to grass, even though he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in five sets. He won his fourth championship of the year at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle and advanced to the quarterfinals of the All England Club with just two set losses. He defeated Yannick Hanfmann and Matteo Berrettini, the 2021 Wimbledon champion, in straight sets before dominating Miomir Kecmanovic and fending off a charging Ben Shelton in a third set tiebreaker.

In the Sudden Death game of the opening set against Medvedev, Sinner displayed similar strength, bouncing back from a poorly timed double fault to win the match on his second set point, even as Medvedev countered with a nervous double fault of his own.

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Medvedev, who was headed for a sixth successive loss to Sinner, managed to maintain composure long enough to earn the opening break of the game and convert it when the Italian made a mistake off the forehand side. With an ace to tie the match at one set apiece, Medvedev maintained his lead despite Sinner’s efforts to avert a double-break setback.

Sinner was down another break to begin the third, so he called a concerning medical timeout and was taken off the court after having his blood pressure checked. After witnessing his girlfriend Anna Kalinskaya’s injury-related retirement against Elena Rybakina yesterday, Sinner persevered and won 12 of 14 points to secure his Medvedev break. He also won three straight games after trailing 3-5 in the first set.

With a well-placed serve to stay in the set, Medvedev saved two set points to force a second tiebreaker and won the first mini-break, ultimately sealing the two-set lead.

With Rod Laver watching, Sinner started the fourth set much better, breaking early with a crisp drop shot and eventually running out to a 5-1 lead on a confused Medvedev, who now had to play a decider.

However, Medvedev took the initiative in the fifth game, breaking via an Italian forehand error to take an 0-40 lead on Sinner’s serve. Two games from loss, Sinner served, and Medvedev capitalized by navigating five deuces on his own serve.

Medvedev easily served for the match, overwhelming the number one seed to earn three match points, converting his first on the four-hour mark with a deft backhand winner, despite Sinner keeping things close.

On the No. 1 Court, Medvedev will wait for the winner of Alcaraz (who leads 4-2) and Paul (who leads 3-1).