MELBOURNE (Reuters) – U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev will battle Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the Australian Open semi-finals on Wednesday as he looks to capitalise on the absence of world number one Novak Djokovic and win his second Grand Slam title.
Medvedev, runner-up to Djokovic last year in Melbourne, beat Auger-Aliassime in the semi-finals of both last year’s U.S. Open and this month’s ATP Cup, but was cautious ahead of his fourth career meeting with the Canadian.
“Last two (matches) I managed to have the edge on him, but he’s a phenomenal player,” said world number two Medvedev, who has won their three previous meetings.
“It’s the later stages of the biggest tournaments in the world,” he added, referring to the pair’s previous meetings. “I think it means that we’re doing a pretty good job in our careers.”
Victory could send Medvedev through to a repeat of last year’s semi-final with world number four Stefanos Tsitsipas, who must overcome 11th seed Jannik Sinner to keep his quest for a maiden Grand Slam title on track.
Former French Open champion Iga Swiatek meets unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi, who beat second seed Aryna Sabalenka in the last 16, while Alize Cornet plays her maiden Grand Slam quarter-final against Danielle Collins.
(Reporting by Hritika Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
