ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) — Daniil Medvedev is already in the semifinals of the Adelaide tournament and could face top seed Novak Djokovic.
Medvedev, who lost last year’s Australian Open final to Rafa Nadal, defeated fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-3 on Friday. The tournament serves as preparation for the first major of the year, which starts on January 16 and for which Medvedev once again sounds like a favourite.
Djokovic will face Denis Shapovalov later on Friday. The Serb was not in Melbourne last year after being deported for failing to meet the requirement to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
Medvedev won the US Open in 2021 and has lost two finals in Australia, including one against Djokovic.
In addition, the American Sebastian Korda defeated Jannik Sinner 7-5, 6-1 and met in the semis with Yoshihito Nishioka, who eliminated the Australian Alexei Popyrin.
In the women’s draw, teenager Linda Noskova defeated double Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(6) in a quarter-final match that lasted nearly three hours.
Aryna Sabalenka, fifth in the world rankings, was the first to advance to the semifinals, beating Marketa Vondrousova 6-3, 7-5.
