Defying painful blisters and the unlikeliest of odds, Australian Chris O’Connell has come agonisingly near incomes the most important win of his profession towards Daniil Medvedev within the Qatar Open.
The unheralded Sydneysider gave the previous world No.1 all the difficulty he might deal with of their quarter-final in Doha earlier than ultimately succumbing 6-2 4-6 7-5 in just below two hours of absorbing fight on Thursday.
It was a exceptional rearguard motion of ability and aggression from the 29-year-old Australian, who spent the primary 20 minutes of the match resembling a matchstick man in a hurricane as Medvedev, using a wealthy vein of type, threatened to blow him off courtroom.
Fresh from successful in Rotterdam final week, the Russian, who’s now taken his win streak to seven matches, earned two speedy breaks and seemed to take him no time in any respect to eliminate the world No.94, who he’d additionally thrashed of their solely earlier assembly on the US Open in 2020.
But O’Connell, buoyed by the second finest win of his profession on Wednesday towards Roberto Bautista Agut, cashed in on Medvedev’s drop in focus ranges at first of the second set, taking each likelihood to assault on the web and discomfit the baseliner.
Struggling with blisters, which pressured him to name for a coach when main 5-2 within the second stanza, O’Connell regarded to have misplaced his likelihood as Medvedev then received again on serve on the resumption.
But the Australian once more shocked the odds-on favorite, developing with a superb dinked forehand drop shot to seal one other break and take the tie into a 3rd set, with Medvedev unable to interrupt by way of once more within the decider.
Yet at 5-5, he confirmed his champion’s killer intuition, cashing in on some second serves from O’Connell to interrupt him to like, earlier than sealing victory on his supply to arrange a semi-final towards both Felix Auger-Aliassime or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
“At 5-5 in the third, I managed to play quite a good game,” Medvedev stated after applauding O’Connell as he walked off the courtroom.
“He missed a few shots that he didn’t miss before. It was an important moment in the match and that made me win.
“Everything is dependent upon small moments – typically confidence, typically pure luck. I’ve misplaced shut matches in my life and gained some. I’m making an attempt to make use of my expertise to make it higher. I’m pleased it labored right this moment.”
O’Connell’s hopes of making the second tour-level semi-final of his career, after reaching the last-four in San Diego last season, may have been scuppered, but he’s set to make a jump in the rankings into the top 90 next week.
Medvedev got through after Andy Murray had earlier continued his marvels, coming from a set down to beat French qualifier Alexandre Muller 4-6 6-1 6-2.
The 35-year-old Scot, who knocked out Alexander Zverev within the earlier spherical, is on target for his third title in Doha, however might have his palms full within the semi towards Czech Jiri Lehecka, who triggered a shock by upsetting high seed Andrey Rublev 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
