Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev will face off in a very interesting Australian Open semifinal on Friday.
Stefanos and Daniil are well-known to have rather an edgy rivalry after “that” match they played in Miami in 2018.
What happened in Miami?
Daniil Medvedev defeated Stefanos 2-6 6-4 6-2 in what would have been an anonymous 1st round. Instead, that match remained in the history books. Tsitsipas looked in control of the match when he was leading 6-2 3-2, but eventually he lost the encounter and the cool at the end of the match.
According to Tsitsipas, Medvedev was upset with the Greek player for not apologizing for a let. However, the rally went on for several shots after that let. Later Tsitsipas revealed that he forgot about it, and he was stunned seeing that Medvedev got mad about it. Stefanos was under the impression that that was a dirty tactic to get into his head and defeat him.
“The bullshit Russian and the small kid”
Things escalated when Stefanos insulted Daniil at the net, famously calling him the “Bullshit Russian.” Medvedev reacted badly, saying: “Stefanos you better shut your *** up.”
The umpire had to intervene to avoid things becoming physical and (also famously) Daniil said: “He’s a small kid who doesn’t know how to fight.”
Even if they are not best friends, after many years, Stefanos and Daniil are on good terms.
Tomorrow is Medvedev v Tsitsipas, you all know what that means #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/cCQkeZ8Fp2
— Val Febbo (@VFebbo96) January 27, 2022
Tsitsipas at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2022
Now ranked no.4, Tsitsipas has achieved an overall 6-1 match record in 2022. Stefanos is currently having a run at the Australian Open where he conquered Mikael Ymer 6-2 6-4 6-3, Sebastian Baez 7-61 6-75 6-3 6-4, Benoit Paire 6-3 7-5 6-72 6-4, Taylor Harry Fritz 4-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 6-4 and Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will come up against the world no.2 Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal. Their actual record is 6-2 for Medvedev.
The Greek won 7 titles in his career: 3 on clay courts and 4 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Medvedev at the Australian Open, ranking, and results in 2022
Now the world no.2 (career-high), the Russian has an overall 8-1 record in 2022. Medvedev is playing at the moment at the Australian Open where he defeated Henri Laaksonen 6-1 6-4 7-63, Nick Kyrgios 7-61 6-4 4-6 6-2, Botic Van De Zandschulp 6-4 6-4 6-2, Maxime Cressy 6-2 7-64 6-74 7-5 and Felix Auger Aliassime 6-74 3-6 7-62 7-5 6-4.
Daniil Medvedev will fight against the world no.4 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinal. Their actual record is 6-2 for Medvedev.
Medvedev won 13 titles in his career: 6 on hard courts, 6 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev squared off 8 times. Their actual head to head record is 6-2 for Medvedev. Before, the last time they competed against each other, Stefanos Tsitsipas won 6-3 7-6(3) 7-5 in the quarter in Paris (French Open) in June 2021.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
