Bet on Daniil Medvedev to make quick work of Alexander Zverev in Australian Open semifinal

Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev will meet in the Australian Open Semifinals on Friday morning. It is the 19th time that the two superstars have met in their professional careers, but just the first time they’ll face off in a Grand Slam.

Zverev looked the more impressive player in a momentous win over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, but it’s Medvedev who currently sits as a -172 favorite.

Every tennis player is unique, but Daniil Medvedev takes it to another level. Known for his court coverage and his patented method of returning big servers from yards behind the baseline, Medvedev flipped the script on Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinal by standing right on the line when the Pole was serving.

The tactical change caught Hurkacz off guard and led to an early break for Medvedev en route to winning the first set. Things got quite bumpy from that point on and it looked like the Russian’s legs were gone after he lost the fourth set, but he was able to rely on his serve to get cheap points against Hurkacz and buy time until he caught his second wind in the decider.

The win over Hurkacz was the second fifth-set victory of the tournament for Medvedev.

» READ MORE: Bet on St. John’s as home favorites against Villanova on Wednesday night

Zverev has also been involved in a couple of five-set classics in Melbourne, but he was able to dispatch Alcaraz in four sets thanks to a terrific level of tennis. Zverev’s forehand was a real weapon against the Spaniard and allowed him to dictate the majority of the match.

Take nothing away from Zverev in the match, but it did seem like he caught Alcaraz on an off-day. Perhaps that was because the German was in such good form that Alcaraz had no answer, but it’s also fair to say that Medvedev should provide a tougher test than Alcaraz did on Wednesday morning.

One of the great things about Medvedev is that he can beat you in a million ways. He’s a ridiculous defender and can absorb power better than almost anyone on tour, plus he’s got terrific offensive weapons to help bail him out of trouble. I think he has too many weapons for Zverev in this spot and could make quicker work of the German than the market suggests.

The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator, or a gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.