He was a 19-year-old prodigy ranked somewhere in the hundreds, but he had been invited to practice in Monaco with the World No. 1 player – at the height of his game, coming off a second consecutive Wimbledon triumph.

More than seven years ago, this was the first on-court meeting between Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic.

“He’s not going to speak to me,” Medvedev, who considered Djokovic a god, thought to himself. “I came there and because I was shy, I didn’t speak. So he was asking me questions, talking to me like a friend. I was really surprised and it never changed since I was 600 in the world or four.”

Medvedev related this story early last year, after Djokovic defeated him in the 2021 Australian Open final in straight sets and less than two hours.

“It’s a matter of time when you’re going to hold a Grand Slam that’s for sure,” Djokovic told him during the trophy ceremony. “But if you don’t mind waiting a few more years.”

Medvedev, as it turned out, minded.

Less than seven months later, at the US Open, Medvedev defeated Djokovic – in straight sets – for his first major title. Those two major finals in 2021 were the eighth and ninth meetings at the ATP Tour level and they have established one of the best rivalries in professional tennis today.

On Saturday, at the Astana Open in Kazakhstan, they meet for the 11th time (6 p.m., local time) in a highly anticipated semi-final match. Djokovic advanced with his seventh consecutive victory, 6-4, 6-3, over Karen Khachanov. Later, Medvedev scorched Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-1.

No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas meets No. 5 Andrey Rublev in Saturday’s first semi-final.

“We meet again,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview, “and I’m really happy. I feel like it’s not a bad rivalry, not of course close to Novak against Roger [Federer] or Rafa [Nadal], but still … I need to be at my best tomorrow.”

Tantalizingly, this is their first meeting of 2022. That might not be the case if Djokovic had played the Australian Open or the US Open. Djokovic, at 35, is nine years older than Medvedev and playing with a historic sense of urgency. He trails Rafael Nadal in the all-time Grand Slam singles count 22-21 and you get the idea that, going forward, Medvedev may well play a role, one way or another, in shaping that race.

It’s been a fascinating matchup, going back to their first meeting five years ago in Davis Cup. Djokovic took that one and the first three overall, before Medvedev – then 23 – responded with back-to-back victories in 2019 at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati. They split in 2020, with Djokovic winning an early match at the ATP Cup in Australia and Medvedev scoring a victory at the Nitto ATP Finals.

In their most recent match, at last year’s ATP Masters 1000 in Paris, Djokovic came back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to win his record-extending sixth title in Paris and collect his record 37th Masters 1000. That match underlined just how evenly matched these two players are.

“I think the similarity that we both have is that we are controlled attackers, we are good in defense,” Djokovic explained in his post-match press conference. “I think his anticipation is really, really good and he’s so solid, particularly from the backhand side. He doesn’t make many mistakes at all.

“He makes you run and work for every single point and he tries to wear you out – but that is kind of also my formula throughout my career.”

This year, although they never crossed paths on the court, they engaged in an entertaining back-and-forth in the Pepperstone ATP rankings. On 28th February, Medvedev rose to No. 1 for the first time, supplanting Djokovic. That reign was brief, only three weeks, but it happened again in mid-June. This time, Medvedev held No. 1 for 13 weeks – before his 2021 US Open points came off and 2022 winner, Carlos Alcaraz, ascended the throne.

Both players have plenty of motivation here. While fifth-placed Medvedev is in a better position regarding the Pepperstone ATP Live Race to Turin, neither man has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals as of yet. Medvedev, who trails Djokovic 6-4 in head-to-head play, would like to narrow that count.

Djokovic said that playing Medvedev will be his biggest challenge so far in Astana.

“I’m expecting a physical battle,” Djokovic said. “I know that I have to be ready to play very long points. Hopefully, I can serve well. That’s going to be important. I know he’s going to serve really well, he’ll have some free points on his first serve. Going to try to get some returns in play, make him play, make him uncomfortable.

“I know the tactics, but I don’t want to talk about it too much in the media – save it for the match.”

At the age of 34, Adrian Mannarino is breaking new ground. The Frenchman made his first tour-level doubles final on Friday at the Astana Open, combining with compatriot Fabrice Martin to beat Polish duo Hubert Hurkacz and Jan Zielinski 2-6, 6-2, 10-5.

The last time Mannarino won a doubles title at any level came 15 years ago, when he bagged four at Futures level.

“I didn’t even know it was my first doubles final. No, I won’t get emotional with this one,” said the left-hander, who has reached 11 singles finals, including when Astana first hosted an ATP event in 2020.

“I hope we’re going to make it all the way. Let’s try to build something out of this tournament.”

Mannarino’s day did not begin as he hoped.

He faced Andrey Rublev in the singles quarter-finals, having won their last ATPHead2Head on an indoor hard court — like Astana’s playing conditions — in Moscow last year.
But Rublev needed just 55 minutes to advance and set up a semi-final clash with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas downed Hurkacz, so one of the two losing quarter-finalists in the day session was bound to be a little happier after the doubles. It turned out to be Mannarino.

“I was just trying not to think about what happened earlier in the day,” said Mannarino. “I didn’t play such a good match, but Andrey played really good.

“I think my level wasn’t that bad, actually, so I was just trying to make my best and give a good quality in doubles, and it worked out pretty well in the end.”

The end of the contest is where Mannarino and Martin especially thrived against Hurkacz and Zielinski, who won the crown at the Moselle Open in Metz last year and landed in the semi-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 Canada in August. From 4-4 in the match tiebreak, the French duo reeled off six of the last seven points.

The most memorable came at 6-5, when the quartet produced perhaps one of the finest doubles points of the season.
Hurkacz held firm to volley Mannarino’s lasered forehand, before Martin later pulled off an instinctive half-volley from Hurkacz’s drive off a net-cord.

The point ended with a Martin put away at net — and smiles from Mannarino, Martin and Hurkacz.

Martin, No. 54 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, reached his 19th career doubles final but first of the season.

“It’s super nice. I’ve had a tough year this year,” said the 36-year-old. “Trying to find a partner, and I felt I was playing great the whole year, physically well. Luckily, Adrian was keen to play doubles. We’re great friends and always have fun on court so that was a good option to finish the year well.”

Mannarino and Martin upset top-seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus in the quarter-finals. To go all the way, they will have to beat second-seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.

They topped third-seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 3-6, 7-6 (4), 10-7 in a repeat of last year’s Wimbledon final the Croatians also won.

Mektic and Pavic began their comeback by saving four break points to start the second set and also trailed 4-2 in the second set tiebreak.

Daniil Medvedev set a blockbuster semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic on Friday at the Astana Open, where he raced past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-1, 6-1.

In one of his best performances of the season, Medvedev looked in complete control. He struck his flat groundstrokes with consistent power and depth, acting as a brick wall to force the Spaniard into errors and advance after 64 minutes.

“I am happy to play the right game, to be really solid and to do everything I can to make his life difficult and I am really happy to beat him,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I tried to mix it up as it is not easy to play against Roberto. I tried to mix it up and surprise him a little bit and it worked very well.”

Bautista Agut entered the match leading Medvedev 4-1 in their ATP Head2Head series. However, the 34-year-old was unable to hit through the World No. 4 on the hard courts in Kazakhstan, with Medvedev dramatically turning the tables to earn his 40th tour-level win of the season.

The 26-year-old will next play Novak Djokovic after the former World No. 1 downed Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-3. Medvedev, who is seeking his second tour-level title of the season this week at the ATP 500 event, trails the Serbian 4-6 in their ATP Head2Head series.
Saturday’s semi-final clash will be the first time the pair has met since the Paris final last November, when Djokovic won in three sets.

“I am really happy to play against Novak,” Medvedev said. “I thought about it before the match and we have only played one tournament together this year, which was Roland Garros. This is the second one and we meet again and I am really happy.”

With his victory over Bautista Agut, Medvedev has further strengthened his chances of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held from 13-20 November in Turin. The 14-time tour-level titlist triumphed at the end-of-season event in 2020 and is currently fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic found a hot streak just in the nick of time against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos on Friday at the Astana Open, where the second seeds won the final five points of the match to clinch a 3-6, 7-6(4), 10-7 semi-final victory.

Mektic and Pavic trailed 5-7 in the Match Tie-break before their late heroics capped a dramatic one-hour, 44-minute triumph as the Croatian pair surged to their eighth tour-level final of the season at the ATP 500 event in Kazakhstan.

Mektic and Pavic, who are currently fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, will now bid for their fifth ATP Tour crown of the year against Adrian Mannarino and Fabrice Martin in Sunday’s final. The French pairing scored a narrow semi-final win of its own, taking out Hubert Hurkacz and Jan Zielinski 2-6, 6-2, 10-5.

It is the first time Mannarino has advanced to a tour-level doubles final.

“I didn’t even know it was my first doubles final. No, I won’t get emotional with this one,” said the left-hander, who has reached 11 singles finals, including when Astana first hosted an ATP event in 2020.

“I hope we’re going to make it all the way. Let’s try to build something out of this tournament.”

Martin, No. 54 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, reached his 19th career doubles final but first of the season.

“It’s super nice. I’ve had a tough year this year,” said the 36-year-old. “Trying to find a partner, and I felt I was playing great the whole year, physically well. Luckily, Adrian was keen to play doubles. We’re great friends and always have fun on court so that was a good option to finish the year well.”

Matos/Vega Hernandez Seal Final Berth In Tokyo
At the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo, Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez defeated Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 7-5, 6-4 on Friday to reach their fifth tour-level final since pairing for the first time together in March.

The third-seeded Brazilian-Spanish duo lifted their first ATP Tour hard-court trophy in Sofia last week. Matos and Vega Hernadez’s opponent’s in Sunday’s championship match will be Mackenzie McDonald and Marcelo Melo. The unseeded McDonald and Melo advanced to the final after a left knee issue for Nick Kyrgios forced the Australian and his partner Thanasi Kokkinakis to withdraw.

Novak Djokovic, playing with his usual uncanny precision, won his seventh consecutive match Friday night, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-3 at the Astana Open.

The Serbian star advanced to his sixth semi-final of the season, where he will play No. 2 seed Daniil Medvedev for the first time this year. Should Djokovic back up last week’s Tel Aviv championship run with a second consecutive title (and 90th overall), he will qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

Djokovic served exceptionally well against Khachanov and, at the same time, one of history’s greatest returners converted three of five break point opportunities against the World No. 18’s formidable serve.

“I didn’t play as well from the baseline as I did in the first two matches, but still it was enough,” said Djokovic after the match. “I managed to produce some good tennis when it was the most needed in both sets.”

The two matches Djokovic played for Team Europe at the Laver Cup in late September were his first for three months following his triumph at Wimbledon in July. Yet the 35-year-old seems to be returning to familiar form on indoor hard courts.

Djokovic broke the unseeded Khachanov in his first service game and led 3-0, before Khachanov found an equilibrium and won the next three games. Serving to stay in the match at 4-5, a backhand error gave Djokovic set point. He converted it with a stunning backhand volley into the open court.

After failing to convert a break point against Khachanov in the second game of the second set, Djokovic managed it in the fourth. A forehand winner that may have clipped the line gave him a 3-1 lead. Djokovic’s steadiness in the long points ultimately proved decisive, and he wrapped his 88-minute victory with an emphatic ace to secure a semi-final berth on tournament debut.

“I always expect highs from myself,” said Djokovic said. “Hopefully I can elevate still the level of my game for tomorrow because it’s going to be needed, obviously, whoever I play against.”

Khachanov, who has now lost 20 straight matches to Top 10 opponents – nine in 2022 – has now fallen in seven of eight matches to Djokovic across his career.

Did You Know?
By winning Wimbledon in July, Djokovic is guaranteed to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals as a current-year Grand Slam champion who finishes within the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin should he win the Astana Open. Victory at the ATP 500 would give Djokovic enough points to guarantee that he will be in the Top 20 of the Race on the Monday after the Rolex Paris Masters.

Denis Shapovalov and Borna Coric both entered their Tokyo quarter-final with perfect set records this week. The Canadian, a finalist last week in Seoul, kept his streak intact with a 6-4, 6-3 win on Friday evening to reach the semi-finals for the second time at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

Shapovalov converted on three of his four break chances to earn his first ATP Head2Head win against Coric in his third try. The seventh seed dropped serve on the only break point he faced as he failed to serve out the opening set at 5-4, but he snapped back to secure the set on return.

After breaking again midway through the second set, he rode strong serving to victory in one hour, 17 minutes. The 23-year-old lost just three points on his own delivery in the second set, during which he enjoyed a run of 13 straight points won on serve.

“I think I played great today,” Shapovalov said in a post-match press conference. “In general, my level the last two weeks has been great, so I’m very happy to be back in the semis.”

Now 7-2 at the ATP 500 event, where he also reached the semi-finals in 2018, Seoul finalist Shapovalov will bid for his second championship match appearance in as many weeks when he takes on Taylor Fritz, against whom he owns a 4-1 ATP Head2Head record. This week’s success has lifted him two places to No. 20 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as he builds back toward his career high of World No. 10, achieved in 2020.

“When my serve is going well, the rest of my game, I can kind of relax and play pretty freely,” Shapovalov said. “Me and my team have put a lot of work into returns as well, so I think that’s an area where I’ve improved a lot, as well as the serve. I think those are the two most important shots in the game.”

Fritz earlier advanced to the semi-finals following the withdrawal of Nick Kyrgios due to a left knee issue. The pair had been due to meet in the night session at the ATP 500 event, where Kyrgios lifted the trophy in 2016.

“It’s obviously very disappointing,” Kyrgios said in a press conference. “It’s one of my favourite tournaments. I’ve had great memories here… It’s heartbreaking, but I’ll be here next year. That’s for sure.”

The Tokyo fifth seed also pulled out of Atlanta earlier this year with a left-knee issue before rebounding in time to reach the US Open quarter-finals.

“I’ve been playing amazing tennis all year and actually was dealing with a bit of a knee issue around the US Open time,” Kyrgios explained. “I got back home and probably didn’t take enough time off, to be honest. I went straight back into training.”

The 2016 Tokyo champion had been in fine form this week with singles wins against Chun-Hsin Tseng and Kamil Majchrzak in addition to a run to the doubles semi-finals alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis. The Australian pair has also withdrawn from the doubles draw as a result of Kyrgios’ injury.

“The Japanese fans are some of my favourite to play in front of,” Kyrgios said. “It’s been such an amazing week. Obviously playing four matches and winning all four, I’ve been feeling great. I definitely felt like I was a threat to win the tournament and go all the way in singles and doubles.”

Kyrgios plans to return to the ATP Tour later this month in Basel and Paris.

Third seed Fritz had not won a match in three previous appearances in Tokyo but has battled hard to advance through the draw this week in the Japanese capital. The American saw off both James Duckworth and Hiroki Moriya in three sets to set the quarter-final clash with Kyrgios. Those victories came off the back of the American spending a week in full quarantine due to testing positive for COVID-19 in Seoul last week.

Perseverance paid off for Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Astana Open on Friday. The Greek rallied to win a gripping first set, then broke late in the second for a 7-6(8), 6-3 victory against Hubert Hurkacz.

Tsitsipas powered into his ninth semi-final this season and improved his ATPHead2Head lead against Hurkacz to 7-2. This, however, marked a first straight-set result in their past seven duels.

Tsitsipas has yet to be broken in three matches at the ATP 500 in Kazakhstan, although it looked like he would concede his first set of the week when his fellow Top 10 star in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings held five set points in the first-set tie-break.

On the third one of those, the Greek looked in particular trouble. With Hurkacz serving, Tsitsipas threw up a defensive lob after the Pole’s forehand approach. But Hurkacz, so assured on smashes previously in the set, erred wide.

Two more set points came and went for the seventh seed before Tsitsipas capitalised on his lone opportunity when Hurkacz’s backhand passing shot strayed wide.

“Most of those situations, I was not the fortunate one serving,” Tsitsipas said post-match, referring to the set points. “I was still able to break through and get back fighting, and it was very, very emotional to get that first tie-break after having thrown my body on the court.

“It was a very good moment to finish it off and get the tie-break.”

His good form in tie-breaks in Astana thus continued, after Tsitsipas won both against Italian qualifier Luca Nardi in the second round.

Hurkacz had done well to force the tie-break given he saved all eight break points he faced in three successive service games. Clutch serving proved key, as the Pole produced seven first serves, which prompted seven returns that did not clear the net. On the other one, Hurkacz served and volleyed behind a second serve.

It countered Tsitsipas’ own service games. At one stretch in the first, the Greek won 11 straight points behind his delivery. Overall, Tsitsipas only lost 10 points on serve. Hurkacz was bound to be reeling early in the second but steadied early. At 3-4, though, he relinquished serve from 40/15 in the second set’s lone break-point chance.

“I got that break I was looking for in one of the very last moments of the match, which gave me such a relief after trying to break him for so long,” said Tsitsipas.

Tsitsipas then comfortably served it out, helped by a net cord on his first match point. In deep concentration, he initially did not know the match finished.

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Third seed Tsitsipas carries a 5-4 ATPHead2Head record into his semi-final clash with Andrey Rublev, who began quarter-final day by topping Adrian Mannarino 6-1, 6-2.

“He strikes the ball very hard,” said Tsitsipas of Rublev. “But I’m going to concentrate on my game. I’m going to be well prepared and visualise it before.”

Tsitsipas is bidding for a maiden ATP 500 crown, having lost all eight of his finals at 500s.

Despite the defeat, Hurkacz jumped one spot into eighth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin thanks to his run in Astana this week, as the Pole attempts to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second time.

Hurkacz’s day is not over in Astana, where he and partner Jan Zielinski later face Mannarino and Fabrice Martin in the doubles semi-finals.

Nick Kyrgios was left heartbroken after a left-knee injury forced him to pull out of the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships ahead of his quarter-final showdown with Taylor Fritz on Friday night.

“It’s obviously very disappointing,” the Australian said in a somber press conference. “It’s one of my favourite tournaments. I’ve had great memories here… It’s heartbreaking, but I’ll be here next year. That’s for sure.”

The Tokyo fifth seed also pulled out of Atlanta earlier this year with a left-knee issue before rebounding to reach the US Open quarter-finals.

“I’ve been playing amazing tennis all year and actually was dealing with a bit of a knee issue around the US Open time,” Kyrgios explained. “I got back home and probably didn’t take enough time off, to be honest. I went straight back into training.”

The 2016 Tokyo champion had been in fine form this week with singles wins against Chun-Hsin Tseng and Kamil Majchrzak in addition to a run to the doubles semi-finals alongside Thanasi Kokkinakis.

“The Japanese fans are some of my favourite to play in front of,” Kyrgios said. “It’s been such an amazing week. Obviously playing four matches and winning all four, I’ve been feeling great. I definitely felt like I was a threat to win the tournament and go all the way in singles and doubles.”

He later added: “When your body lets you down, it’s not a good feeling. I know in this case it’s probably overloading rather than not being fit enough. I think t’s almost being too excited to get on the court and maybe training a little bit too much. So it’s positive, but heartbreaking at the same time.”

Kyrgios plans to return to the ATP Tour later this month in Basel and Paris.

Fritz moved on to the semi-finals as a result of the Aussie’s withdrawal. The third seed had not won a match in three previous appearances in Tokyo but has battled hard to advance through the draw this week in the Japanese capital.

The American saw off both James Duckworth and Hiroki Moriya in three sets to set the clash with Kyrgios. Those victories came off the back of the American spending a week in full quarantine due to testing positive for COVID-19 in Seoul last week.

Through to his second ATP 500 semi-final of the year, this year’s Indian Wells champion awaits the winner of the evening matchup between seventh seed Denis Shapovalov and ninth seed Borna Coric.