Gutsy Medvedev outlasts Hurkacz to reach Melbourne semis

MELBOURNE :Third seed Daniil Medvedev was forced to dig deep into his reserves to outlast Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 in an epic quarter-final on Wednesday and reach the last four of the Australian Open for third time.

The Russian, twice a losing finalist at Melbourne Park, went toe-to-toe with the big Pole for almost four energy-sapping hours on Rod Laver Arena before finally setting up a clash with Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.

Ninth seed Hurkacz, who was playing in only his second Grand Slam quarter-final but had a winning career record against Medvedev, twice came from a set down and made the Russian work hard for every single point.

Former U.S. Open champion Medvedev, who saved 10 of the 15 break points he faced over the contest, grizzled and moaned his way around the court but finally secured a place in his eighth Grand Slam semi-final with the most delicate of drop shots.

"I'm so destroyed right now," said Medvedev, who played a five-set marathon into the early hours of the morning in the second round.

"In the fourth set ... I'm like 'I just have to try my best to do whatever I can and let's see, if I lose, I lose and go home'. I'm happy that I managed to win like this. I really liked the match point."

The players look well matched from the opening set, both solid on their first serves but looking fragile on their second and claiming a break apiece.

Medvedev mixed it up a bit by coming into the net to show off his volleying skills as he clinched the tiebreak but Hurkacz came out firing in the second set.

The Pole was rewarded with a slew of winners and an early break, while Medvedev needed to show his mettle through four deuces to avoid going 3-0 down.

Hurkacz was now getting a look at Medvedev's serve