Wimbledon: Top seed Sinner crashes out as Medvedev prevails in epic

By Sports Desk July 09, 2024

Daniil Medvedev prevailed 6-7 (7-9) 6-4 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 6-3 over world number one Jannik Sinner to reach the semi-finals at Wimbledon.

In a four-hour epic, the Russian outlasted top seed Sinner to reach the last four at the All England Club for a second straight year.

Since 2000, Medvedev is only the fourth player to defeat the men's number one on three or more occasions at grand slams, along with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Stanislas Wawrinka.

Sinner, who was forced to take a medical timeout due to illness midway through the third set, rallied brilliantly from that issue in the fourth to force a decider.

However, the Italian ran out of steam in the fifth set, with Medvedev going on to clinch victory with three match points to spare, briskly sending Sinner around the court before drilling a winner down the line.

"I knew if I wanted to beat Jannik it was going to be a tough match, he's not a guy you can beat easily, even if he wasn't feeling that good," said Medvedev.

"I managed to stay at a high level, a great match and I'm really happy with my game looking forward."

Asked what it was like to face Sinner after the medical timeout, Medvedev added: "It's actually very tough. One moment, I could see he wasn't moving well.

"It's tricky because you want to play more points to make him suffer more, but then at the same time, you know he will come back and go full power. In a way, I would prefer not to have this situation."

Medvedev will face either Tommy Paul or reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.

Data Debrief: Dragging on...

There have now been 36 five-set matches in the men's singles at Wimbledon this year, surpassing the 1983 US Open and 2024 Australian Open (35 each) for the most at a single grand slam event in the Open Era.

Medvedev, meanwhile, has now reached nine semi-finals at majors, though the 28-year-old has only progressed from two of those previous eight ties.

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