Australian Open: Novak Djokovic beats Alexander Zverev & meets Aslan Karatsev next
Top seed Novak Djokovic shows yet more mental and physical resilience to beat sixth seed Alexander Zverev and reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Top seed Novak Djokovic shows yet more mental and physical resilience to beat sixth seed Alexander Zverev and reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Novak Djokovic survived another major test at the Australian Open on Tuesday, as he overcame Alexander Zverev 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(8) in three hours and 30 minutes to reach his ninth semi-final at Melbourne Park.
Djokovic saved nine of 12 break points, including a set point at 5-6 in the fourth set with an ace, to earn his sixth ATP Head2Head victory in eight matches against Zverev. The 33-year-old has now won 11 straight matches against Top 10 players at Melbourne Park, dating back to his quarter-final loss to eventual champion Stan Wawrinka in 2014.
“Down to the very last shot, it was anybody’s game, anybody’s match,” said Djokovic, in an on-court interview. “[There were] a lot of nerves out there, a lot of pressure. Emotionally, [I] feel a little drained, honestly. It was a great battle. Congratulations to Sascha for a great tournament and a great battle today. Tough luck today, but we pushed each other to the limit.”
This is Djokovic’s second comeback win against Zverev on Rod Laver Arena this year. Just 11 days ago, Djokovic outlasted the 2018 Nitto ATP Finals champion 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5 in Serbia’s 2-1 loss to Germany at the ATP Cup.
Djokovic has survived back-to-back four-set encounters since suffering an abdominal injury in his five-set victory against Taylor Fritz last Friday. The 17-time major champion is now two wins away from joining 13-time Roland Garros titlist Rafael Nadal as only the second man to claim nine or more titles at the same Grand Slam event. Djokovic is also aiming to narrow the gap on 20-time Grand Slam winners Nadal and Roger Federer.
Djokovic made a slow start to his 48th Grand Slam quarter-final (39-9), as he committed multiple double faults and forehand errors to drop serve in the opening game of the match. Zverev overpowered the eight-time champion from the baseline to earn a set point at 3-5, but Djokovic stepped inside the court and ripped a backhand winner down the line to stay in contention.
Despite failing to serve out the set at 5-4, Zverev continued to play with an aggressive mindset in the tie-break. The German capitalised on poor shot selection from Djokovic at 6/6, as he chased down a drop shot to earn his third set point with a powerful overhead. Zverev fired a strong body serve to force Djokovic into a forehand return error and clinch the opener.
Djokovic responded immediately in the second set, as he forced Zverev behind the baseline with deep returns and significantly reduced his unforced error count. The top seed dropped three points in the opening four games and soon levelled the match with an ace down the T. Djokovic struck 23 unforced errors in the opening two sets. Only two of those were committed in the second set.
“After [the first set], I just felt I started moving better, playing better,” said Djokovic. “I served extremely well. I had slightly more aces than him (23 to 21) which, for me, is a miracle [when] playing against a big server like Sascha.”
There was a sense of first-set déjà vu at the start of the third set, as Djokovic lost his opening service game with a forehand error and a double fault. Unlike the first set, Djokovic was able to recover. From 2-4, 0/30 down on Zverev’s serve, Djokovic won 16 of the next 18 points to take the third set. The 33-year-old capitalised on Zverev’s first two double faults of the match to recover the break and he showed greater consistency in extended baseline rallies turn the set in his favour.
Zverev continued his trend of early breaks in the fourth set. The German found his targets as Djokovic rushed the net and he fired a strong forehand up the line to break serve. But Djokovic showed his fighting spirit once more to book his place in the final four. Djokovic escaped from a combined five break points at 0-3 and 3-4 with all-out aggression and saved a set point at 5-6 with an ace to reach a tie-break. The six-time year-end World No. 1 forced Zverev into an error at the net to claim the only mini-break of the fourth-set tie-break at 6/6 and he converted his second match point with an ace down the T.
Zverev, who had been bidding to reach the Australian Open semi-finals for the second consecutive year, was disappointed that he couldn’t capitalise on his chances.
“[There were] maybe too many mistakes, easy mistakes,” said Zverev. “But it’s one of the most difficult things, holding your serve against Novak in our sport. [I’m] very upset with the result.
“For me, the most upsetting parts in the third and fourth sets were actually not losing my serve, but not getting the second breaks. Because I had chances in both those sets [and] that would have changed things a lot. It was a great match. I think we both played well [and] I think we played an extremely physical match.”
“Other than the second set, I started pretty poorly [in] all the other three sets,” said Djokovic. “I lost my service very early in the first, third and fourth [sets] and just allowed him to swing through the ball a bit more. I regained my focus after I broke my racquet [in the third set] and things started to shift a little bit for me in a positive direction. If he won this match, it definitely wouldn’t be undeserved. He was playing really well. It was anybody’s game and I am just really glad to overcome such a challenge.”
Djokovic will meet Grand Slam debutant Aslan Karatsev for a place in the championship match. The 27-year-old defeated Grigor Dimitrov 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 to become the first player in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach the semi-finals in his maiden major championship appearance. Djokovic will aim to extend his unbeaten 16-0 record in semi-final and final matches when he meets Karatsev for the first time at Melbourne Park.
“To be honest, I hadn’t seen [Karatsev] play at all before the Australian Open,” said Djokovic. “Of course, I have seen him play during the Australian Open… He is a very strong guy. Physically, he is just very strong. He moves well [and] just has a lot of firepower from the back of the court. [He has a] great backhand. [He is straight] from the Russian school of tennis, [they] always have great backhands. He serves well and he is motivated. He has nothing to lose.”
Did You Know?
This is the ninth time Djokovic has reached the Australian Open semi-finals. On the eight previous occasions the Serbian has advanced to the final four at Melbourne Park, he has lifted the title.
When will we learn? Every time we think Rafael Nadal’s body is about to give out, that the decades of bruising, dictate-or-disappear tennis are finally catching up with him, the Mallorcan comes through once again, encircled by photographers at some trophy-biting presentation in Barcelona or the Bois de Boulogne.
“Everybody said that because of my style, I would have a short career,” he scolded back in the summer of 2018. “I’m still here.”
When Nadal pulled out of the ATP Cup earlier this month complaining of tightness in his lower back, all we could talk/text/tweet about was how this latest setback would stymie his chances at the Australian Open, where the 34-year-old was seeking to snap a stalemate with Roger Federer with a record 21st major singles title.
“NADAL’S AUSSIE OPEN IN DOUBT,” blared one headline. But while the rumours churned, Nadal, who said he wasn’t “a big fan of finding excuses,” was quietly knifing his way through his quarter of the draw. Even with an altered service motion, the 2009 champion hasn’t dropped a set through four rounds and is now into the quarter-finals for the 13th time in 16 appearances at Melbourne Park.
In his much-hyped Round of 16 match with longtime nemesis Fabio Fognini of Italy, Rafa rolled, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, in just two hours and 16-minutes, the outcome never really in doubt.
“Things in sports change quick,” observed Nadal. “Sometimes you feel that you are so-so; then you win a couple of matches and you feel the best possible.”
Bidding to become the first man in the Open Era to win all four major championships at least twice, Nadal will next face a well-rested Stefanos Tsitsipas. The fifth-seeded Greek benefitted from a fourth-round walkover when ninth seed Matteo Berrettini of Italy withdrew due to an abdominal strain. The 22-year-old’s only real test came courtesy of home favourite Thanasi Kokkinakis who, in front of the Aussie fans, pushed Tsitsipas to five sets in the second round.
Nadal will come in as the go-to pick, having claimed six of their seven ATP Head2Head meetings, including a straight-sets, 6-2, 6-4, 6-0 victory in the 2019 Australian Open semi-finals. Tsitsipas’ lone win came that same year on his opponent’s favourite surface, clay, in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals, 6-4, 2-6, 6-3.
Tsitsipas is bidding to become youngest Australian Open men’s singles champion since Novak Djokovic in 2008. Last year, he reached the third round (l. to Raonic).
Elsewhere in quarter-final play on Day 10 in Melbourne, fourth seed Daniil Medvedev and seventh seed Andrey Rublev, who less than 10 days ago combined efforts to lead Russia to the ATP Cup title, will tussle in a matchup some penciled in the moment the 2021 draw was released. Both players remain an unbeaten 8-0 in 2021.
“If the level is going to be the same, these guys [are] going to see each other in the quarter-finals,” foreshadowed Russia’s ATP Cup player/captain Evgeny Donskoy on 7 February.
Into the quarter-finals here for the first time, Medvedev owns a 3-0 advantage in ATP Head2Head matches against his former junior foe. They last met in the US Open quarter-finals in 2020, with Medvedev earning a 7-6(6), 6-3, 7-6(5) victory. But former No. 1 and 1999 Australian Open champ Yevgeny Kafelnikov says you can toss those results out the window on Wednesday. According to the Russian, it’s all about who gets out of the blocks first.
“I stick to my view that whoever wins the first set is going to take the match,” said Kafelnikov, 46. “Andrey is a great frontrunner. That concerns me a lot when he plays top-level players. He’s going to struggle to come back into the match if he loses the first set. In that sense, it’s a must for him to win the first set if he wants to get through that quarter-final.”
The fact that Rublev has spent so much time around his countryman over the years should only serve him well going forward. Medvedev, two years his senior at 25, has been a trailblazer of sorts; breaking through to his first major final at the 2019 US Open and winning the year-end Nitto ATP Finals in 2020. His fellow Muscovite is a real-time example of all that is possible in this sport.
“He reads the game really well and it’s amazing the patience he has to stay so long in the rallies, to not rush, to take his time,” said Rublev. “These things are amazing because, in the end, these little details, they make him who he is.”
“After the match, we are great friends. There is no rivalry,” said Medvedev, who’s riding an 18-match winning streak that dates back to October 2020. “Unless there’s a huge fight during the match, which I doubt, one of us is going to say congrats to the other. We’ll be disappointed with the result, but we’ll move on and have many more matches to come.”
Regardless of the outcome, these victorious ATP Cup champions have made history in Melbourne. With the troika of Medvedev, Rublev and qualifier Aslan Karatsev all landing in the elite eight, it marks the first time in the Open Era that three Russian men have reached the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam. The question is, which man will join Karatsev in the semi-finals?
British doubles player Jamie Murray on rekindling his successful partnership with Brazilian Bruno Soares for the 2021 season.
Former World No. 1 Andy Murray has taken a wild card into next week’s Open Sud de France in Montpellier, the ATP 250 event announced on social media Monday.
Murray will make his tournament debut in Montpellier looking to build on a strong start to the 2021 season at the Biella Challenger Indoor 1. He won four matches, including eight sets in a row, to reach his first final at any level since 2019.
Murray, currently No. 125 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, will head to Montpellier in search of his third ATP Tour title in France after lifting trophies at Open 13 Provence (Marseille) in 2008 and the Rolex Paris Masters in 2016.
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Andy Murray, previous World No 1, multiple Slam winner and double Olympic Gold medallist, will play in Open Sud de France 2021 ?— Open Sud de France (@OpenSuddeFrance) February 15, 2021
Murray will join a host of Top 100 players in his first ATP Tour tournament of the year. Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut leads the field as the top seed, alongside fellow Top 20 player David Goffin.
France’s Richard Gasquet is also scheduled to hit the court in Montpellier, which begins 22 February. He’ll be joined by fan favourites Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Feliciano Lopez, as well as #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner.
Serena Williams produces a stunning performance to beat second seed Simona Halep and set up an Australian Open semi-final with Naomi Osaka.
Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek ended the run of Aussie wild cards Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 on Tuesday to reach their second straight Australian Open semi-final.
Dodig and Polasek landed 26 winners and won 78 per cent of their first-serve points (40/51) en route to victory. The ninth seeds entered the quarter-finals without dropping a set, but they needed one hour and 50 minutes to overcome Ebden and Smith on Court 3.
Dodig and Polasek, who are through to their third Grand Slam semi-final as a team (0-2), own a 9-2 record this year. The Croatian-Slovakian duo is aiming to reach its second final of 2021, following its runner-up finish at the Antalya Open in January (l. to Mektic/Pavic).
The Antalya finalists will have a chance to gain revenge for their championship match loss on the Turkish south coast. They will face Antalya champions Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the semi-finals. Mektic and Pavic survived a final-set Match Tie-break to defeat 2019 champions Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3).
Mektic and Pavic struck 43 winners, including 10 aces, to extend their unbeaten record as a team to 12-0 after two hours and 24 minutes. The second seeds, who began their partnership in Antalya last month, are chasing their third title of the year. Mektic and Pavic picked up their second trophy of the season at the Murray River Open.
Britons Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid beat Stephane Houdet and Nicolas Peifer to defend their Australian Open men’s wheelchair doubles title.
The best backhand in the business.
Daniil Medvedev may very well have taken over this prestigious mantle as the 2021 season kicks off Down Under. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of Medvedev’s unbeaten run of eight matches at the ATP Cup through the second week of the Australian Open identifies a backhand par excellence.
Medvedev’s backhand does double duty. It’s equal parts brick wall and frozen rope, able to repel and attack with ease. Sometimes it looks like he is shoveling the shot. It’s ultra-flat, and it’s struck with metronomic, Russian precision.
No bells and whistles. No French flair. It’s ungainly, and it’s unstoppable.
Medvedev’s backhand starts with a simple, scooping backswing and often ends with hands and feet flying in all directions. The stroke looks unteachable. The ball flying off the strings, on the other hand, is struck with impeccable accuracy. Think of an arrow peppering a bullseye 78 feet away close to his opponent’s baseline.
ATP Cup: Backhand Metrics
Medvedev went unbeaten at the ATP Cup, defeating Diego Schwartzman, Kei Nishikori, Alexander Zverev, and Matteo Berrettini. Medvedev’s backhand was a big reason why, as he struck more than double the number of backhand winners his opponents did.
Winners
Medvedev Backhand Winners: 17
Opponent Backhand Winners: 8
Unforced Errors
Think of unforced errors as simply loose shots. They happen all the time — just as much through a lack of focus and concentration as footwork and preparation. Medvedev had precisely the same amount of unforced forehand errors as his opponents (42), but considerably fewer from the backhand side. Why? Medvedev’s backhand is a machine.
Medvedev Backhand Unforced Errors: 44
Opponent Backhand Unforced Errors: 66
Forced Errors
Medvedev once again put up identical error metrics to his opponents from the forehand side with 43 forehand forced errors. His backhand yielded approximately half the amount of forced errors. This is “Exhibit A” for the backhand brick wall analogy.
Medvedev Backhand Forced Errors: 31
Opponent Backhand Forced Errors: 57
2021 Australian Open
If anything, Medvedev’s backhand has stepped up a level at the Australian Open. He has defeated Vasek Pospisil, Roberto Carballes Baena, Filip Krajinovic, and Mackenzie McDonald to reach the quarter-finals. Up next is ATP Cup teammate Andrey Rublev. Medvedev has cleaned house off the backhand wing so far at Melbourne Park, striking almost triple the number of backhand winners as his opponents.
Australian Open Backhand Winners
Medvedev Backhand Winners: 32
Opponent Backhand Winners: 12
Australian Open Unforced Errors
Medvedev has only hit about two thirds the number of backhand unforced errors compared to his opponents so far at the Australian Open. He is once again proving too consistent from the back of the court.
Medvedev Backhand Unforced Errors: 44
Opponent Backhand Unforced Errors: 60
Australian Open Forced Errors
Trying to force a backhand error from Medvedev is fast becoming one of our sport’s toughest tasks. This is another backhand metric that Medvedev has dominated through his first four matches.
Medvedev Backhand Forced Errors: 42
Opponent Backhand Forced Errors: 55
To gain a full appreciation of just how good Medvedev’s backhand is, don’t actually watch it. Focus on the ball that explodes off his strings and the lethal mix of depth, direction and power it produces. Look to see how uncomfortable his opponent is trying to get it back into play.
Then you will understand.
Russia’s tennis monster has steadily grown over the past few years. But at Melbourne Park, it has loomed larger than ever. First, Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev led their country to glory in the ATP Cup. Now at the Australian Open, three Russian men — with World No. 114 Aslan Karatsev joining Medvedev and Rublev — are into the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam for the first time in the Open Era.
The country’s stars are not just shining Down Under; they are making history. Back home, former World No. 1 Yevgeny Kafelnikov couldn’t be happier.
“It was really expected that two of them got to where they are. The third one is a big surprise, but a very happy surprise. I’m very happy for Aslan, finally getting his breakthrough,” Kafelnikov told ATPTour.com. “He’s going to play a lot of tournaments now without any pressure for the remainder of the 2021 season in terms of getting into the main draws and a big pay cheque will also be a huge boost for him. I’m really happy for him.”
During the ATP Cup, it was clear Medvedev and Rublev were dominant forces for their country. The stars produced jaw-dropping performances against the best players in the world. They lost a combined two singles sets in the entire event, creating plenty of hype leading into the Australian Open. They have lived up to those expectations during the season’s first Grand Slam, where they will play each other in the quarter-finals Wednesday. But to Kafelnikov, regardless of what happens, this is just the beginning.
“We all know that it’s inevitable that they’re going to win a Slam,” Kafelnikov said. “It’s a question of when and where.”
Kafelnikov was the first Russian man to earn a Grand Slam singles championship at 1996 Roland Garros, and he also triumphed at the 1999 Australian Open. Another former World No. 1 from Russia, Marat Safin, also claimed two major trophies, with his most recent one coming at Melbourne Park in 2005. No man from their country has won a Slam since, but Kafelnikov will be excited for the countryman who changes that.
“To be honest, I would be happy if one of those guys or even both of them surpass me in terms of number of titles and weeks at No. 1 in the world,” Kafelnikov said of Medvedev and Rublev. “I’d be happy. I’m not going to be jealous about it. My career was very successful, and hopefully they will have even better [careers].”
A 53-time titlist in singles and doubles, Kafelnikov says that while Russian children once looked up to him and Safin, they now naturally idolise Medvedev, Rublev and World No. 20 Karen Khachanov. Their success is inspiring future generations.
“It’s a great example for the [Russian] parents who at one stage want to have their kids be on the same level [in sports],” Kafelnikov said. “It’s definitely giving them that kind of opportunity. [It is like] what I did with Marat back in the 1990s and early 2000s when we were coming up and playing well and becoming famous all over the world. I think they are great examples. It’s all up to them what is going to happen in the future.”
Medvedev, Rublev and Khachanov — who was not on the Russian ATP Cup team this year, but reached the third round at the Australian Open — are close friends. They have been on the tennis world’s radar for years, with all three competing at the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in 2017.
They warned fans and reporters alike that while Karatsev was not getting the attention during the country’s title run, he was one to watch out for, too. According to Medvedev, Karatsev was Russia’s “secret weapon”. The 27-year-old “secret” is out after making the quarter-finals in his first Grand Slam main draw.
“It’s great for our sport [in Russia]. With Andrey, [we are] really happy for Aslan, because he was practising good in the ATP Cup. We felt like he could do something amazing,” Medvedev said. “To be honest, being in your first Grand Slam main draw and making the quarters is something exceptional. [His run is] not over yet. Let’s see how he does tomorrow.”
One Russian is guaranteed to reach the semi-finals because Medvedev and Rublev are playing each other, and two will make the last four in Melbourne if Karatsev upsets former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov. But this is not an aberration.
Medvedev at the 2019 US Open became the first Russian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final since Safin won the 2005 Australian Open. He then lifted the biggest trophy of his career at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals. Rublev led the ATP Tour with five crowns last season and he has stormed into the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, making Russia the only country with two players in the elite group.
How does the generation these Russians are competing in compare to the challenges that confronted Kafelnikov and Safin two decades ago? Kafelnikov does not want to compare the two, feeling that’s unfair to all the players involved.
“It’s a million-dollar question and it’s hard for me to answer. We would probably say that we played in a way harder generation in terms of average level of player and they would say they played in the Big Three era when those guys won practically every Slam for the past 13, 14 years,” Kafelnikov said. “It’s almost unfair to draw the line between the generations. We all had our tough times playing against guys like Sampras, Agassi, Becker, Edberg, Kuerten, players like that. They would say they had a hard time playing against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic. It’s understandable.”
Kafelnikov simply wants this group to shine, and he will be watching as Russia’s stars try to continue leaving their mark in Australia.
“I’m going to watch Karatsev play against Dimitrov and then on Wednesday I will watch the Rublev-Medvedev match,” Kafelnikov said. “I am very excited, but it’s not only me. All the fans in Russia are excited.”
