German sixth seed Alexander Zverev is hoping a semi-final at the Australian Open will be the perfect time to end Daniil Medvedev's recent curse over him.
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Zverev surged into the last-four at Melbourne Park for the second time after upsetting young Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz in four sets.
After struggling through some early matches in this tournament, Zverev locked into his best against the world No.2 as he knocked off a top-five ranked opponent at grand slam for the first time.
Medvedev returned to his best in the second-half of 2023, making the semi-finals at Wimbledon and then losing the US Open decider against Novak Djokovic.
Zverev was one player to be on the end of Medvedev's resurgence, losing five out of six matches against the world No.3 last year.
The Olympic champion's only victory over Medvedev in 2023 came at the Cincinnati Masters.
Overall, Medvedev has a 11-7 winning record over Zverev and won their season-ending match at the ATP Finals last November.
"A lot of matches were extremely close," Zverev said.
"A lot of the times it came down to him being extremely confident last year, him playing some of the best tennis of his life, and me coming back from injury and not having the confidence in deciding moments and not being able to finish matches.
"He's obviously extremely difficult to play. No question about it. He's one of the best players in the world right now.
"But I'm happy in the position I am, and I'm going to do everything I can to win that match on Friday."
Medvedev, a two-time Australian Open finalist, finds himself in a third-consecutive semi-final after responding from a torrid 12 months.
The 27-year-old slumped after losing the 2022 Open decider against Rafael Nadal when the legendary Spaniard famously clawed his way back from two sets down.
Medvedev fell out of the top-10 and looked a long way from challenging for another major title to add to his triumph at the 2021 US Open.
Despite experiencing some issues with his serve during this tournament, Medvedev believes making it to the last four the hard way will be beneficial.
"I'm really not too much worried about this, especially when you win matches," he said.
"I feel like I'm actually serving good ... and it's good that I manage to be in the semis getting broken 18 times."
3-DANIIL MEDVEDEV (RUS) leads 6-ALEXANDER ZVEREV (GER) 10-7
2023 ATP Finals, hard, RR, Medvedev 7-6 (9-7) 6-4
2023 Beijing, hard, SF, Medvedev 6-4 6-3
2023 Cincinnati Masters, hard, R16, Zverev 6-4 5-7 6-4
2023 Rome Masters, clay, R16, Medvedev 6-2 7-6 (7-3)
2023 Monte Carlo Masters, clay, R16, Medvedev 3-6 7-5 7-6 (9-7)
2023 Indian Wells Masters, hard, R16, Medvedev 6-7 (7-5) 7-6 (7-5) 7-5
2021 ATP Finals, hard, F, Zverev 6-4 6-4
2021 Paris Masters, hard, SF, Medvedev 6-2 6-2
2021 ATP Cup, hard, SF, Medvedev 3-6 6-3 7-5
2020 ATP Finals, RR, Medvedev 6-3 6-4
2021 Paris Masters, hard, F, Medvedev 5-7 6-4 6-1
2019 ATP Finals, RR, Zverev 6-4 7-6 (7-4)
2019 Shanghai Masters, hard, F, Medvedev 6-4 6-1
2018 Canadian Masters, R16, Zverev 6-3 6-2
2018 Miami Masters, R64, Zverev 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-5)
2017 Washington, QF, Zverev 6-2 6-4
2016 St Petersburg, R16, Zverev 6-3 7-5
DANIIL MEDVEDEV
Age: 27
Ranking: 3
Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $US38,148,405
Career titles: 20
Grand slam titles: 1 (US Open 2021)
Australian Open win-loss record: 26-7
Best Australian Open results: runner-up 2021, 2022
ALEXANDER ZVEREV
Age: 26
Ranking: 6
Plays: right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Career prize money: $US39,288,005
Career titles: 21
Grand slam titles: 0
Australian Open win-loss record: 25-8
Best Australian Open results: semi-finalist 2020, 2024
Australian Associated Press
