“Daniil Medvedev Secures a Semi-Final Berth in the Vienna Open with a Three-Set Victory over His Fellow Russian Karen Khachanov, the Eighth Seed. Medvedev, Ranked World No. 3, Dominated the First Set in 53 Minutes but Faced a Setback in the Second as He Went for a High-impact Serve on Khachanov’s First Break Point Opportunity. However, Medvedev regained control, making an early break in the decider to clinch his 63rd win of the season.”
Daniil Medvedev beat Karen Khachanov 6-3 3-6 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Vienna Open to move a step closer to defending the title he won last year.
In the battle of the Russians in the Austrian capital, the world No. 3 Medvedev proved too strong for his compatriot, despite a second-set blip.
Khachanov, the No. 8 seed, imperiously defeated Roman Safiullin and Jiri Lehecka in his opening rounds, but once paired up with an opponent that could nullify his power with quick movement and deft touches, it felt there was only going to be one winner.
Medvedev, the beaten US Open finalist, took the opening set in 53 minutes, looking comfortable, and not facing a single break point.
The second set was a different story. Medvedev, in control of proceedings, decided to go for a 220km/h serve on Khachanov’s first break point of the match, but missed the target and gave his opponent a crucial break.
Normal service was resumed, however, in the decider, as Medvedev raced into a 3-0 lead to seize back the momentum, seeing out the victory in style to record his 63rd win of the year, tying with Carlos Alcaraz, and making his 11th semi-final of the season in the process.
“I’ve had an amazing season,” Medvedev said. “If I had played a bit better in the Grand Slams, [maybe] I would have won one. Then it would’ve been by far my best season.
“It’s a little bit tough to say because in one of [the previous] seasons, I won a Grand Slam, but if we don’t talk about Grand Slams then it’s by far my best season. It’s not finished yet, so I want to try and finish it even stronger.”
The No. 1 seed, who fought hard to get past Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16, will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last four.
Tsitsipas, the No. 4 seed, was not at his best, but came through 7-6 7-5 against Croatian wildcard Borna Gojo.
The Greek hit 26 winners and had enough to overcome a stubborn Gojo to reach his sixth tour-level semi-final of the year after an hour and 51 minutes.
Tsitsipas, who had never before been beyond the second round in Vienna, is chasing his second title of 2023 after the world No. 7 won Los Cabos in the summer.
Stream top tennis action, including the 2024 Australian Open, live on discovery+, the Eurosport app and at eurosportplux.com
