"He's been kicking my a** a lot, maybe this will be it" - Alexander Zverev hopes to turn the tide against Daniil Medvedev in Australian Open SF

Alexander Zverev is hoping to get the better of Daniil Medvedev when they face off in the semifinals of the 2024 Australian Open.

On Wednesday, January 24, both Medvedev and Zverev won their respective quarterfinal matches at the Melbourne Major. The former defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 while the latter won 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 against Carlos Alcaraz.

In his post-match on-court interview, Zverev said he was looking forward to his clash with the Russian but admitted he has not fared well against him recently. The German expressed hope to do better against him in Melbourne and said that he was counting on the fans' support to do so.

"Yeah, he's been kicking my a** a lot over the last over the last year or so. But maybe this will be it, this will be the place. I mean, I don't know. I'm counting on all of you guys [for] support," he said.

Zverev faced Medvedev six times last year and won just once, in the Round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters. His defeats came in Indian Wells, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Beijing, and the ATP Finals.

Overall, Medvedev leads their head-to-head record 11-7. Five of Zverev's wins came in their first six meetings from 2016 to 2019.

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Alexander Zverev happy to prevent Carlos Alcaraz from completing a comeback

Alexander Zverev at the 2024 Australian Open.

In his 2024 Australian Open semifinal against Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev started strong. He won the first two sets very quickly and was one game away from sealing the match in straight sets when the Spaniard started mounting a comeback.

With Zverev serving for victory at 5-3 in the third set, Alcaraz broke him for the first time in the match. He then won the ensuing tie-break to take the match into the fourth set.

However, Zverev held firm in the fourth to seal a 6-1, 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4 win in three hours and six minutes and reach the semifinals in Melbourne for the second time in his career.

After the match, the German admitted that he started thinking about the victory when he was one game away in the third set. With Alcaraz taking the match into a fourth set, Zverev was happy to end his revival before it went into a decider.

"Well, look, I'm playing one of the best players in the world, especially over the last two years he's been number one and number two constantly. He's won two Grand Slams. When you're up 6-1, 6-3, 5-3 you start thinking, I mean we're all human," he said.

"It's a great honor to play against guys like him and then when you're so close to winning, obviously your brain starts going and it's not always helpful but I'm happy that I got into the end. I think I fought back quite well in the fourth set. Didn’t let go and very happy to finish the match," he added.

The winner of Zverev and Medvedev's match will face Novak Djokovic or Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final on Sunday, January 28.