Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev edged out world number one Jannik Sinner in a grinding five-set battle to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the second successive year on Tuesday.
A strange match full of momentum shifts and lulls was absorbing rather than gripping but Medvedev did not care as he triumphed 6-7(7) 6-4 7-6(4) 2-6 6-3 on a covered Centre Court.
It snapped a Medvedev’s five-match losing sequence to Sinner and avenged his bitter defeat by the Italian in this year’s Australian Open final when he squandered a two-set lead.
“I knew if I wanted to beat Jannik then I knew it was going to be a tough match,” said Medvedev, who is targeting a first appearance in the SW19 final.
“I’m really happy to win, really happy with my game and looking forward.”
Top seed Sinner won the opening set in a tight tiebreak after saving a set point but mistakes began to creep into his game and after losing the second set he needed treatment off the court early in the third after apparently feeling ill.
Despite losing the third-set tiebreak, Sinner was rejuvenated in the fourth and sent the match into a decider.
Russian Medvedev got the early break though and held firm to win in four hours.
Earlier, Lula Sun’s extraordinary Wimbledon journey ground to a halt in the quarterfinals as New Zealand’s 123rd-ranked qualifier was beaten 5-7 6-4 6-1 by experienced Croatian Donna Vekic on a soggy Tuesday at the grasscourt Grand Slam.