Gutsy Medvedev outlasts Hurkacz
Qualifier Yastremska beats Noskova to book semis spot
MELBOURNE — Third seed Daniil Medvedev was forced to dig deep into his reserves to outlast Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 in an epic quarterfinal on Wednesday and reach the last four of the Australian Open for third time.
Dayana Yastremska beat Czech Linda Noskova 6-3 6-4 on Wednesday to book a semifinal spot at the Australian Open, becoming the first women’s qualifier to reach the last four in Melbourne since the 1978 tournament.
The Russian, twice a losing finalist at Melbourne Park, went toe-to-toe with the big Pole for almost four energy-sapping hours on Rod Laver Arena before finally setting up a clash with Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.
Ninth seed Mr. Hurkacz, who was playing in only his second Grand Slam quarterfinal but had a winning career record against Mr. Medvedev, twice came from a set down and made the Russian work hard for every single point.
Former US Open champion Mr. Medvedev, who saved 10 of the 15 break points he faced over the contest, grizzled and moaned his way around the court but finally secured a place in his eighth Grand Slam semifinal with the most delicate of drop shots.
“I’m so destroyed right now,” said Mr. Medvedev, who played a five-set marathon into the early hours of the morning in the second round. “In the fourth set ... I’m like ‘I just have to try my best to do whatever I can and let’s see, if I lose, I lose and go home’. I’m happy that I managed to win like this. I really liked the match point.”
The players look well matched from the opening set, both solid on their first serves but looking fragile on their second and claiming a break apiece.
Mr. Medvedev mixed it up a bit by coming into the net to show off his volleying skills as he clinched the tiebreak but Mr. Hurkacz came out firing in the second set.
The Pole was rewarded with a slew of winners and an early break, while Mr. Medvedev needed to show his mettle through four deuces to avoid going 3-0 down.
Mr. Hurkacz was now getting a look at Mr. Medvedev’s serve in every return game and did get his second break for 5-2 before holding to love to level up the contest.
It was Mr. Medvedev’s turn to make a hot start to the third set, the Russian racing out to a 3-0 lead on the back of a single break handed to him when the Pole double faulted.
Mr. Hurkacz held to avoid giving up the set on a third break of serve but Medvedev was now banging down a few winners of his own and went two-one up with his eighth ace.
The 27-year-old again broke to start the fourth set but Mr. Hurkacz was still giving as good as he got through some high quality passages of play and got back on terms at 4-4.
The Pole pounced to break Mr. Medvedev again to square up the match and took the momentum into the decider when the Russian would surely start to feel the effects of his second round marathon.
Mr. Medvedev conserved energy and bided his time until an opportunity presented itself, pouncing when a brilliant backhand return gave him a look at 3-3 and driving home the advantage to snatch the crucial break.
The Russian held with difficulty, particularly after a remarkable Mr. Hurkacz save to win one point, but made no mistake when serving for the win, striking a balletic pose and blowing kisses to his team after converting his second match point.
YASTREMSKA
Battling in 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) heat, the Ukrainian’s powerful forehand eventually overcame the 19-yearold Czech, who was the youngest player left in the draw.
Ms. Yastremska, 23, follows in the footsteps of Christine Dorey, the last qualifier to reach the Melbourne Park semis 45 years ago.
The players traded breaks early in the first set, but it was Ms. Yastremska who took the lead in the eighth game when Noskova netted a backhand.
Despite failing to get nearly half her first serves in, the Ukrainian kept the pressure on with a string of forehand winners throughout the match.
Ms. Noskova failed to capitalise on a break point when she was down 5-3 and Yastremska wrapped up the first set in 36 minutes with another well-targeted forehand. Both players went off court after the first set, escaping the heat, and Ms. Noskova had a long chat with her coach on her return.
The players were on level pegging throughout the second set until the seventh game when Ms. Yastremska locked it up on her third break point with a backhand winner that left Ms. Noskova stranded on the far side of the court.
She closed out the match on serve when Ms. Noskova’s backhand return hit the net, ending the Czech’s bid for her first tour singles title and becoming the first qualifier to reach this stage of a Grand Slam since Emma Raducanu won the US Open in 2021.
The world number 93, who has already beaten two Grand Slam champions during the tournament, next faces either 12th seed Zheng Qinwen of China or Russian world number 75 Anna Kalinskaya, who play their quarterfinal later on Wednesday. —