Victory came at a cost for Daniil Medvedev as he beat Alexander Zverev to reach the semi-finals of the Diriyah Tennis Cup on Thursday. That’s after the Russian was seen clutching his knee following an unfortunate slip during his second-round match-up Saudi Arabia.
The setback made Medvedev’s 6-0, 6-4 triumph all the more impressive as he set up a semi-final meeting with Stanislas Wawrinka. The 26-year-old cruised into control following a dominant first set but had to bounce back from a break down to clinch the second.
It was early on in his encounter with Zverev that Medvedev appeared to hurt his knee chasing down a shot at the net. However, that didn’t prevent him from sealing a straight-sets result after receiving a bye through the first round.
“I was running for the drop shot and slided not intentionally,” Medvedev explained to Eurosport ahead of his semi-final clash against Wawrinka. “My knee hit my calf, but full power. It was really painful, especially the first few minutes.
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