Medvedev, Tsitsipas Lead Top 4 Seeds In Cincinnati SFs
For the first time since 2009, the top 4 seeds all made the Cincinnati semifinals. Daniil Medvedev, though, remains the big favorite.
The 2019 Cincinnati champion rolled into the last four crushing 2-time US Open semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-1 to win his 8th straight match.
“That is why we like tennis, because it is made of many, many different small details,” Medvedev said on court. “Different conditions, different balls. I played much better today than I did there. I am really happy to win here and gain a small revenge,” he said of the Olympics.
“I was feeling great during the match. In these conditions, you try to win the match as fast as possible, especially against Carreno Busta, who can catch fire at any moment and start getting you into long rallies. I tried to keep pushing him and I am really happy I managed to do it.”
The surging Russian will meet his countryman Andrey Rublev on Saturday. Rublev took down Benoit Paire in three sets 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to advance to his third Masters semifinal of the year.
“It’s always tough to play against Benoit,” Rublev said. “First of all, he’s really talented and he can play really great tennis. This week he was really pumped, he beat so many great players, top players, so I knew that he would go full force today.
Rublev is 0-4 against Medvedev and has never won a set.
“I’m happy to play against him, because it’s a nice challenge for me to see what I need to improve, because after losing to him previously, I always improve more and more,” Rublev said. “It’s going to be close, like chess match, long rallies. I need to fight for every ball. We’ll see. It’s going to be interesting.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas kept pace in the evening, missing a match point in the second set by inches before putting away Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 to reach another Cincinnati semi.
“Tennis is a psychological game and things like this happen. It’s important to just stick to your roots and what you are doing best,” Tsitsipas told the crowd. “It might not have been ideal in the second set, especially when I made so many opportunities and had such a good opportunity to close it a bit earlier. But with a lot of patience and just trying to find that opportunity in the third set, I was stepping in, I was really determined and I didn’t let go.”
Tsitsipas will now meet the streaking Alexander Zverev. The gold medalist won his 9th straight match cruising past Casper Ruud 6-1, 6-3.
Tsitsipas just beat the German in the French Open semifinals in five sets, and overall he’s up in this series 6-2.
“The matches are not going to get easier,” said Zverev. “I think Stef is somebody who is in incredible form right now and he’s looking forward to playing this match as well because we’re right in front of the US Open. We should be playing our best tennis, and I think it’s going to be entertaining for all of us.
“When you’re in the semi-finals of a Masters, you’re playing your best tennis. I just feel like when I’m playing at my best, I can compete and beat anybody. But I think Stef feels the same way. The better player will win tomorrow and I’m looking forward to that.”
SATURDAY CINCINNATI SCHEDULE
Center Court Starts At 11:00 Am
1 Ashleigh Barty v Angelique Kerber
Not Before 1:00 Pm
1 Daniil Medvedev v 4 Andrey Rublev
Not Before 3:00 PM
5 Karolina Pliskova v (WC) Jil Teichmann
Not Before 6:00 Pm
3 Alexander Zverev v 2 Stefanos Tsitsipas
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