Medvedev dispatches Rublev to reach Aussie Open semifinals

Daniil Medvedev will take a 19-match winning streak into the Australian Open semifinals after beating fellow Russian Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-3, 6-2.

The pair were teammates when Russia won the ATP Cup team event on the eve of the Australian Open. They were on opposite sides of the net on Wednesday, and Medvedev was dominant.

The No. 4-seeded Medvedev hasn’t dropped a set to No. 7-seeded Rublev in four tour-level matches. That includes their meeting in the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year.

He called for the trainer after the match to massage his upper legs as he sat in a courtside chair before a TV interview.

“First time. I think I never saw it also,” he said in the on-court interview. “I went to the bench, last game of the match. I started cramping. I knew he was cramping also. At the end, I locked completely ... three last points when I was getting ready for the serve.”

Medvedev is into the semifinals of a major for the third time. He will next play either 20-time major winner Rafael Nadal or No. 5-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas.

There’s two Russian men in the semifinals. No. 114-ranked Aslan Karatsev will play top-ranked Novak Djokovic for a spot in the final.