Australian Open: Medvedev beats compatriot Rublev to reach semis

Russian Daniil Medvedev secured a spot in the Australian Open semi-finals with a 7-5 6-3 6-2 victory over friend and compatriot Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, extending his winning streak to 19 matches.

It was Rublev`s fourth straight defeat to Medvedev, who has not lost a match since October.

Fourth seed Medvedev had won all his previous matches against Rublev in straight sets and it was no different at a scorching Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday.

"Super tough, if you come to Australia and it`s 40 each day, it`s tough but you get used to it but we`ve had a couple of days when it was 20 degrees," Medvedev said in an on-court interview, after receiving a massage on his left thigh following the win.

"We had some unbelievable rallies, I`m one of the first players to make Andrey so tired... It`s hard to play (a friend) but we`re all so competitive, just need to win, get to that Grand Slam semi-final.

"That was one of my best matches ... I beat him in three sets not even with a tiebreak so I`m really happy."

ATP Finals winner Medvedev raised his game during the important points and sealed the contest with a forehand winner to set up a last-four meeting against either second-seeded Spaniard Rafa Nadal or fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.

Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev will meet world number one Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final on Thursday, with the prospect of an all-Russian men`s final looming on Sunday.

"It`s unbelievable, I`m so happy for Aslan, he`s made history. I don`t know what he did in the pandemic, probably just worked hard I guess," Medvedev said of 114th-ranked Karatsev, who at 27 is in his debut Grand Slam main draw campaign.

"If we have an all-Russian final, it`s going to be a dream come true, but we both have tough matches. It`s so good for Russian tennis."