London: Following the win over Christopher Eubanks in the Wimbledon quarterfinal, world number three Daniil Medvedev admitted that he at one point started losing his focus, and momentum in the match, but was glad to step up his serve game in the fourth set and "put myself back together".
Medvedev entered the semifinal with a thrilling five-set 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 win over Christopher Eubanks on Wednesday, his first grass-court major semi-final. The match lasted for almost three hours.
A self-described ‘hard-court specialist’, Medvedev is playing some of his best tennis in 2023, having won five titles this year, including his first at clay courts in Rome.
On Wednesday, he reached the Wimbledon semis for the first time, but it was not an easy win for him as he was two sets down at one point during the three-hour clash.
"There was a moment in the match I started just losing kind of everything, the focus, the momentum of the match, which can happen of course at this level," Medvedev said in the post-match press conference as quoted by ATP.
"At one moment, really close to [losing]. But happy that I managed to put myself back together," he added. Medvedev's serve helped him make a comeback in the fourth set. He fired 28 aces and got 89 per cent of his first-serve points in the final two sets. He finished the game with just 13 unforced errors.
"Saw the stats after the match, I was like, ‘Wow!’ I felt like at one moment in the match, I was just missing in a way. It does not show in the stats,” Medvedev said.
"The way Chris plays, it is actually tough to [make] an unforced error. He hits so strong, when you miss, it is probably a lot of the time a forced error. When I saw the stats, ‘How did it go to five sets?’"
"Maybe the way he hit through the ball counted to that. But what I saw is that I managed to step up my serve in the fourth set. That's what I was missing in second and third. That was the key. I actually saw I lost two points on the serve in the fourth set, and one of them on the tie-break. That's big. That puts a lot of pressure on your opponent. That is very important on grass," he concluded.
Medvedev has reached semis in three of four major Grand Slam events, with this one being his first of 2023. He has proven that his game is effective on any surface and adapting to the conditions is key. He has a season-leading win-loss record of 46-8.
"On clay, for sure, I found something. Let's say I adapted a lot," Medvedev said. "I found something, especially in the movement. Again, for sure Rome was amazing. Even with Roland Garros and other losses, Madrid and Monte-Carlo, I played good. It is just my opponents were better. I did not have this feeling where, ‘Oh, my god, clay, I cannot win a match!’ I actually felt like I played well."
"Here I would say I managed to find the rhythm, which on grass I feel like you have to adapt less in a way. You just have to serve well and try to return and make one break a set, which sounds easy, but it is not because your opponent is trying to do the same. I managed to find this rhythm which I rarely had on grass because the bounce sometimes goes through the court so you're going to be late on the swing. I managed to find it so far, so hopefully I can find it for two more matches," he concluded.
Alcaraz and Medvedev are 1-1 in head-to-head record. In their most recent meeting in Indian Wells final this year, Alcaraz won. "It is interesting to play someone like Carlos. He is an amazing, amazing player. What he continues to do is just unbelievable. He does not stop. I do not think he will," Medvedev said.
"But I have played a lot of great players in my career. I managed to win many times. So I am going to try to do my best. If I show my best, I will have my chances," he concluded. (ANI)
