Daniil Medvedev avenged his Australian Open final defeat to Jannik Sinner by knocking the world No.1 out of Wimbledon. The Italian required a medical timeout due to illness during the third set but managed to recover and push the match to a fifth set.
However, unlike in Melbourne in January, this time the Russian outlasted Sinner in this intense battle, returning to the semi-finals here for the second consecutive year.
The former world No.1 eventually overcame the current top-ranked player 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 in exactly four hours under the roof on Centre Court.
He will face the winner of the match between defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and Tommy Paul on Friday.
The 2021 US Open winner has reached six Grand Slam finals but all of them on hardcourts.
Sinner achieved the world No.1 ranking for the first time after the French Open and secured his inaugural grass-court title in Halle last month. He entered his third Grand Slam semi-final of the year as the favourite, having won his last five matches against Medvedev, starting in Miami last year.
The Russian had won their first six encounters. However, the Italian had triumphed in 11 of his last 14 matches against top-five players at Tour-level since losing in the semi-final to Novak Djokovic here last year.
In contrast, Medvedev had lost his last five matches against top-five opponents.
In a closely contested first set where neither player conceded a break point, Medvedev took the lead in the tie-break following an exhausting 33-shot rally.
But, he wasted a set point and his game abruptly crumbled, committing a double fault which allowed Sinner to secure the opener.
The unpredictable Russian managed to break serve in the third game of the second set, ultimately levelling the quarter-final.
Sinner conceded another break at 2-1 in the third set and promptly called for the tournament physio.
The Italian, who appeared distressed, had his blood pressure taken courtside before departing for a medical time-out.
Following a 10-minute delay, the 22-year-old resumed play and delighted the Centre Court crowd by courageously fighting back to 5-5. He then squandered two set points, allowing Medvedev to dominate the tie-break.
However, the Italian remained undeterred and equalised the quarter-final with breaks in the third and fifth games of the fourth set.
Ultimately, it was Medvedev who finished stronger, breaking in the final set on his way to victory.
