Australian Open: Medvedev ready for big-serving Hurkacz in quarters
Daniil Medvedev says holding his own serve will be crucial in his quarter-final match up against Hubert Hurkacz at the Australian Open on Wednesday
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It’s not often that Daniil Medvedev heads into a Grand Slam quarter-final against a player he trails head-to-head. However, on Wednesday, that will be the case when he plays Hubert Hurkacz in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Medvedev trails the Pole 2-3 in their head-to-head, last having beaten Hurkacz in 2021. Since then, Hurkacz has prevailed in their past two matches, winning in straight sets at both the Miami Masters and the Halle Open.
The key, Medvedev explains, is Hurkacz’s enormous serve.
“He’s top two or three serves on tour,” said Medvedev. “It’s hard to return him. I’m going to have my eyes prepared and try to catch everything I can on Wednesday.”
“We don’t have many guys like Hurkacz”
“He serves well. He serves well,” Medvedev reiterated. “It’s tough to return his serve. By number of aces, he was number one. Maybe actually the best serve last year.”
Holding his own serve is “going to be the key,” said Medvedev.
“I need to stay strong on my serve, don’t give him the break, either try to break him or go to the tiebreak and try to win the tiebreak.”
When asked what has contributed to the rise of Hurkacz over recent months, the Russian also points to his upcoming opponent’s big serve.
“I think with his serve, always, always. Also he can play good on every surface. As I say, his serve is so good, he can go to the tiebreak all the time. Then, of course, we try to break him. Sometimes he loses when we break him.
“For me it’s really that, in my opinion, he serves bigger than many guys. I would compare it to something like Nick Kyrgios, very precise and at the same time strong
“I would say we don’t have many guys like Hurkacz. Novak has really improved his serve. Jannik improved his serve big-time. Of course, as I say, Hurkacz, Kyrgios. Before Karlovic, Isner. I went when they were a little bit older. Who else can we have? I don’t know if I’m in this category. I don’t serve strong, barely 210, but I feel but I feel like I serve precise.”
Medvedev sees Hurkacz as Grand Slam contender
While Medvedev hopes that Hurkacz won’t progress beyond the Australian Open quarter-finals this week, he does believe the Pole is capable of winning a Grand Slam at some stage.
“He already has two Masters 1000s. When you have Masters 1000, in my opinion you’re already a Grand Slam contender,” Medvedev explained. “Yeah, he has the chance. I hope not this time, but let’s see.”
“I think he’s there. He was in semis in Wimbledon. It’s already a big achievement. I feel like actually in Grand Slams sometimes he would little bit have some surprising results and early defeats where I would look and be like, ‘Okay, he’s out against some guys where maybe I thought he was stronger.’”
The winner of Medvedev and Hurkacz will move into the Australian Open semi-finals, where they’ll play either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.
