‘An obstacle like Daniil is never easy’ – Stefanos Tsitsipas braced for difficult Daniil Medvedev challenge

Stefanos Tsitsipas is braced for a difficult challenge when he takes on world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final of the Cincinnati Open on Saturday.

The No. 4 seed Tsitsipas has advanced to his third consecutive Cincinnati semi-final but has won only two of his nine meetings with Medvedev and lost to the Russian at the last-four stage at the Australian Open earlier this year.

“Of course, an obstacle like Daniil is never easy, but I’m going to try to stay concentrated, try to approach my game in the most precise, best manner.

“I’ll let my tennis do the talking, and the rest will present itself if it’s something that I deserve.”

“That’s great, because a tie-break is a funny thing,” said Medvedev.

“We call it a ‘lottery.’ I do think it’s that way a little bit.

“I remember when I had my crazy run in 2019 [when he reeled of six straight finals], I won a lot of tie-breaks [11] in a row. Then I remember a time in my career when I lost five or six in a row. Now I’ve won a lot again.

“I just try to do my best, play every point. For sure, you lose some, you win some. But 20-6 is a good record. I’m happy about it.

“I’m happy with my level. If I can continue to play this way, and especially during the match raise my level, I can beat anybody.”