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Tsitsipas Australian Open 2021
Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Tennis News

Stefanos Tsitsipas streak ends in Marseille as Daniil Medvedev stops Sinner


Stefanos Tsitsipas sees his winning streak in Marseille come to an end after losing to Pierre-Hugues Herbert whilst Daniil Medvedev ousts Jannik Sinner to reach the semi-finals.

Two-time defending Stefanos Tsitsipas was on a nine match winning streak coming into the quarter-final, though the World No 93 caused a huge upset to win 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-2 and earn his first ever Top 5 win.

“I didn’t know this was the first Top 5 that I beat,” said Herbert, who has now won both of his matches against the Greek.

“It has been an incredible week for me so far, especially this match. I knew I was going to have to play an amazing match to have a chance to win and I managed to do that. I am so happy to be in the semifinals here.”

World No 5 Tsitsipas, who had won his last 18 sets in Marseille, admitted he played nowhere near his best level against Herbert.

“I didn’t deserve to win today,” said Tsitsipas. “He showed a great quality out on the court to persevere and win that match. Very well earned. Too bad for me.”

Herbert, who is more known for his talent on the doubles court, will take on compatriot Ugo Humbert in the semi-finals, who dispatched Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) to reach his first semi-final in 2021.

Herbert said: “There is going to be French in the final. I am happy about that and I hope it is going to be me.”

Daniil Medvedev, who will move to World No 2 on Monday, continued his impressive form with a crushing victory over the promising Italian Jannik Sinner 6-2, 6-4.

He said: “It will be my first time here in the semifinals in Marseille, even if it is my fourth time playing here and third time in the main draw. I am really happy about it. Hopefully, I can go further.

“Jannik always tries to hit the ball as hard as he can,” the Russian added. “You cannot give him easy balls, otherwise you are going to run all over the place and he is probably going to hit a winner. I needed to take time from him. I need to be aggressive and it worked out very well today.”

Medvedev will now take on the 287th-ranked qualifier Matthew Ebden, who upset Karen Khachanov in three sets.


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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.