Daniil Medvedev is through to the semi-final in Beijing. The Russian defeated world no. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-3 in an hour and 22 minutes in the quarter-final, extending his brilliant streak against his good friend.
Daniil has now won 14 of their 17 encounters since 2019, including five straight victories in the previous two years. The former world no. 1 will compete in his 60th ATP semi-final.
This was also his first top-5 triumph on hard court since November 2023. The Russian claimed 30 of 35 points after landing in his first serve. He saved all four break points in the only troubled service gameand kept the pressure on the other side.
Medvedev took charge on the rival's second serve and provided three breaks from four opportunities. The Russian fired 18 winners and 14 unforced errors, while welcoming too many forehand errors from the other side.
The 8th seed dominated from the baseline and took charge in the mid-range and most advanced exchanges, outplaying Zverev 35-14! Alexander experienced a massive setback in the fourth game of the duel.
He squandered a 40-0 lead and got broken when his forehand landed into the net. Daniil had to dig deep to maintain the advantage. He denied four break points in the fifth game and served well by the end of the duel.
The Russian closed the seventh game at love with a forehand winner and served for the opener at 5-3. The 8th seed fired a powerful serve on a set point, closing the opening part of the duel in 39 minutes.
The rivals served well in the opening six games of the second set. Zverev wasted game points at 3-3 and sent a forehand wide on a break point, losing serve and smashing his racket.
Medvedev grabbed the eighth game with an unreturned serve and made another push on the return at 5-3. He broke Alexander after another loose forehand from the German, sealing the deal and remaining on the title course.
