Daniil Medvedev reached the 1/2 finals, beating Christopher Eubanks

For the first time in 15 years, a Russian tennis player will play in the semi-finals of the men’s singles at Wimbledon. This became clear after Daniil Medvedev broke the resistance of the debutant of the London Grass Major American Christopher Eubanks in five games. On Friday, the Russian will face the leader of the world ranking Spaniard Carlos Alcaras, who coped in three sets with the Dane Holger Rune.

There is nothing surprising in the fact that this victory was given to Daniil Medvedev more difficult than expected. The first Wimbledon semi-final in a career is not the result that is achieved without extra efforts. In addition, the Russian got a very extraordinary opponent.

In the history of the London Major, sensational quarter-finalists are born more often than in other Grand Slam tournaments. Such is the nature of grass, where it is easier than on clay or hard to thrive with a powerful serve, forehand, quick reaction at the net, and no tactical frills. The 2-meter-tall, lean US representative has used these classic trump cards 150 percent rather than 100 percent over the past week and a half, breaking the Wimbledon record that has stood for more than three decades. In 1992, the famous American Andre Agassi, who took the title, won 317 points in seven matches with blows right through. Eubanks has now done it 321 times in five matches, including 74 in a meeting with Medvedev. Other facts that prove the originality of the 27-year-old tennis player, who is three months younger than the Russian, but has revealed himself only now, are probably not required.

Daniil Medvedev started, as befits a favorite – calmly and solidly, but failed the second game. And it was paradoxical, because with the highest rate of hitting the first Medvedev serve (89%), Eubanks managed to make two breaks.

And the situation became completely alarming when, at the beginning of the third set, Medvedev, leading 30:0, again gave his pitch, as a result of which the American took seven games in a row. In matches against elite opponents, such protracted failures are fraught with almost certain defeats.

Fortunately, in this case, on the other half of the court in front of Medvedev was not a frequenter of the quarterfinals at the majors, but the 43rd number of the rating, who for the first time felt the burden of responsibility of this tournament stage. In addition, the Russian pulled himself together and in six games of the fourth installment gave only one point on his serve. He lost another goal in a 3-1 tie-break, but Eubanks failed to take advantage of this. And then, as often happens, a very high-class tennis player completely took control of the situation and did not leave a single chance for a simply good tennis player. Eubanks, who, like his idol Roger Federer, uses a one-handed backhand, has erred far more often than is allowed against Medvedev.

As a result – 6:4, 1:6, 4:6, 7:6 (7:4), 6:1 in 2 hours 57 minutes. To complete the picture in this case, it makes sense to give a few statistical indicators. The ratio of actively won points and unforced errors is 74:54 for Eubanks and 52:13 for Medvedev. The American realized 44 out of 66 exits to the grid, and the Russian – only 4 out of 8. At the same time, Medvedev made noticeably more aces – 28 against 17. That is, it was a rather specific game in which, according to classical laws, everything was decided by a higher level of the winner.

Russian fans certainly have a reason to rejoice. Medvedev became the first participant in the Wimbledon semi-finals from Russia since Marat Safin lost at this stage to the then world No. 1 Roger Federer in 2008.

Now Medvedev will also have to deal with the leader of the world ranking – the Spaniard Carlos Alcaras, who figured out in three sets with the Dane Holger Rune. In March, in the final of the tournament in Indian Wells, the Spaniard took a very convincing revenge from the Russian for the defeat of two years ago in the second round of Wimbledon, and in order to succeed on Friday, Medvedev needs to serve not just one set, but the entire match perfectly and also reduce to minimum errors on the back line.

Meanwhile, the women’s tournament lost its reigning champion. Yelena Rybakina from Kazakhstan in the quarter-finals against Tunisia’s Uns Jabir, which was a repeat of last year’s final, took the first set in a tie-break, but in the end of the second game she lost control of the situation and was defeated in about two hours. Dzhabir’s rival in the semi-final will be Belarusian Arina Sabolenko, who easily coped with the American Madison Keys and has a real chance to become the first racket of the world. To get around Iga Swiatek in the ranking, it is enough for her to win just one match.

Evgeny Fedyakov