Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev was thrilled with the performance he delivered versus Roberto Bautista Agut at the Astana Open. On Friday, Medvedev ousted Bautista Agut 6-1 6-1 to set up an Astana Open semifinal versus Novak Djokovic.
Bautista Agut, a former Wimbledon semifinalist, has never been an easy opponent for Medvedev. Going into the Astana Open match, Bautista Agut had a 4-1 head-to-head over Medvedev. This time, Medvedev came out and handled the business against Bautista Agut.
“I am happy to play the right game, to be really solid and to do everything I can to make his life difficult and I am really happy to beat him. I tried to mix it up as it is not easy to play against Roberto. I tried to mix it up and surprise him a little bit and it worked very well,” Medvedev said, per the ATP website.
Medvedev on playing Djokovic next
“I am really happy to play against Novak. I thought about it before the match and we have only played one tournament together this year, which was Roland Garros. This is the second one and we meet again and I am really happy,” Medvedev said of facing Djokovic.
This week, Medvedev is the second-seeded player at the Astana Open, while Djokovic is the fourth-seed. On Saturday, Medvedev and Djokovic will be going head-to-head for the 11th time when they meet at the Astana Open. Going into the match, Djokovic owns a 6-4 head-to-head record versus Medvedev.
Also, this will be the first meeting between Djokovic and Medvedev this year. Last year, Djokovic and Medvedev clashed in three finals. This time, they will be meeting in an ATP semifinal. After Djokovic defeated Medvedev in the 2021 Australian Open final, Medvedev got his revenge by beating Djokovic in the 2021 US Open final.
Then in the last meeting between the two – which came in the 2021 Paris Masters final – Djokovic claimed a three-set win. It remains to be seen if Medvedev can now clinch his fifth victory over Djokovic at the Astana Open.