By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday March 15, 2023
Daniil Medvedev turned up in good form and knocked out Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to reach the semis.
Photo Source: Getty
By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday March 15, 2023
There was an injury cloud surrounding Daniil Medvedev from the moment he tumbled in the back court during his round of 16 match against Alexander Zverev on Tuesday.
Somehow he made it through that match, winning in three sets against the German, but when he was seen visibly limping as he walked to and from his press duties on Tuesday afternoon at the BNP Paribas Open, many speculated that he might even be able to play in Wednesday’s quarterfinal against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Au contraire.
Medvedev turned up in torrid form and methodically picked apart the Spaniard, 6-3, 7-5, to reach his first BNP Paribas Open semifinal, moving extremely well and showing no signs of pain or frustration in a high-level contest.
After the match Medvedev said that he felt a lot of pain in warmups but never doubted that he could gut it out and compete in the match.
"I'm actually happy the ankle didn't hurt much because when I warmed up, it was hurting pretty bad," Medvedev on court after the win. "I knew I was going to play, I knew I was going to try. But I couldn't move well on the warmup. I tried to warm it up as long as possible, took one painkiller so that probably helped. I was actually feeling better and better during the match."
Medvedev and Davidovich Fokina engaged in some entertaining tennis on a breezy day in Stadium 1, both mixing up their shots and attacking the net when opportunities presented themselves. Davidovich Fokina made both sets close but lacked that extra bit of consistency that Medvedev put on display throughout the contest (he hit 24 winners against 12 unforced errors; Davidovich Fokina hit 24 winners and 24 unforced errors).
Not only can the No.5 seed impose his game on opponents, he can also settle back and simply make them miss.
Medvedev did a little bit of both on Wednesday and was good under pressure as well, saving all six break points he faced against the No.23 seed.
Medvedev needed just a single break of serve in each set – he snagged one in the second game of the opening set and never looked back; in the second set he finally broke open a very competitive set with a break for 6-5.
The 27-year-old served out the match from there to close it out in one hour and 46 minutes.
Medvedev will face Frances Tiafoe in the semifinals on Saturday. He’ll benefit from a few days rest and the fact that he owns a 4-0 lifetime record against the American.
Tiafoe is in great form in the California desert, however. He has yet to drop a set through four rounds, and defeated No.10-seeded Cameron Norrie 6-4 6-4 on Saturday.