Medvedev into Australian Open semis; Yastremska, Zheng to meet ...

Alexander Zverev made no mistake with his second chance to close out a win over No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday night and moved into an Australian Open semifinal against two-time finalist Daniil Medvedev.

The sixth-seeded Zverev was a up a break in the third set and missed a chance to serve it out but he didn't blink the second time, finishing off a 6-1, 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-4 victory.

Wimbledon champion Alcaraz was the only player to beat 10-time Australian Open winner Novak Djokovic in a Grand Slam match last year. He won't get the chance in Australia this time.

It was Zverev's first win over a top-5 player at a Grand Slam, and the reward was a spot in the semis for the seventh time at a major.

Medvedev outlasted ninth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to reach the semifinals for the third time in four years.

In a grueling four-hour match containing numerous rallies of 20-plus shots, Medvedev held off a comeback attempt from Hurkacz to advance.

The women's semifinal lineup is complete after 12th-seeded Zheng Qinwen and Ukrainian qualifier Dayana Yastremska won their quarterfinals Wednesday to join 2023 champion Aryna Sabalenka and U.S. Open winner Coco Gauff in the last four.

Zheng and Yastremska have never gone so far in a major. They'll play Thursday for a spot in the final after Yastremska beat Linda Noskova 6-3, 6-4 in the day session and Zheng rallied to fend off Anna Kalinskaya 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-1 at night.

Medvedev, who won the 2021 U.S. Open and is a two-time finalist in Australia, appeared on course for a more straight-forward victory when he led 4-2 in the fourth set but Hurkacz raised his game to take it to a decider.

Medvedev took the decisive break in the seventh game of the fifth and held on for victory, capped with a drop shot.

"I'm so destroyed right now," Medvedev, his hands clasped behind his head, said in his on-court interview. "I was feeling very tough physically in the send set already."

The No. 3-ranked Medvedev has had a tough run in Melbourne, including a nearly 4 1/2-hour, five-set second-round match that finished close to 4 a.m. and when he admitted he was already thinking about the flight home.

The trip home entered his mind again against Hurkacz, when he resolved to throw out the game plan and do whatever he could to turn things around.

That included reverting to a risky serve-volley strategy on some points, and standing up near the baseline to receive serves — much closer than he usually does owing to his usual deep positioning.

In the opening match on Day 11, No. 93-ranked Yastremska became only the second qualifier to reach the women's singles semis in Australia in the Open era, after Christine Storey in 1978.

"It's nice to make history because at that time I was not born," said Yastremska, who was born in 2000. "I'm super-happy, very tired."

Noskova beat top-ranked Iga Swiatek on her way to her first Slam quarterfinal and struck first, breaking for a 2-1 lead in the first set.

But Yastremska broke back immediately and from that moment on, Noskova was always playing catch up. The Ukrainian broke again to lead 5-2 and served out for the set. One break, in the seventh game of the second, was enough to seal victory.

"I was a little bit nervous, but at the same time tired. I think I was a little bit too emotional," she said. "Before my match I got angry at the practice [with] my coach. But that's fine, because I could put my emotions away. Yeah, another step is done."

In the night match, Zheng was down a set and 3-2 before winning 10 of the next 11 games to earn a spot in a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time.

The first set contained four service breaks and went to a tiebreaker before Kalinskaya took six of the last seven points to edge in front.

Zheng, a U.S. Open quarterfinalist last year, seized control midway through the second set. And, after Kalinskaya held serve to open the third, Zheng won 12 straight points.

She led 4-1 when Kalinskaya needed a medical timeout for treatment on her upper right leg, and returned to finish off the match quickly after the break.

"Really excited. First time for me," Zheng said. "Really happy to be in the semifinals, especially with such a good performance like this."

Meanwhile, the final score line reads 6-4, 6-2 and a quarterfinal victory for the favoured fourth seed.

But Robert Shaw of North Bay, Ont., had a legitimate shot at upsetting Guy Sasson of Israel in quad wheelchair singles on Tuesday at the Australian Open had it not been for some untimely service hiccups.

Shaw, who hopes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, was leading the first set 4-2 and looked in control when his serve let him down and allowed Sasson to rally from behind and eventually take the set in 38 minutes.

Sasson took the second set 6-2 in 61 minutes, but several games were locked at 40-40 with Shaw unable to convert on his opportunities.

Sasson finished with five aces, five double faults, 45 winners, 24 unforced errors, seven of 15 break points won, 32 return points won and 26 service points won.

Shaw had no aces, one double fault, 22 winners, 12 unforced errors, four of 11 break points won and 18 return points won.

Sasson advances to the semifinals to play top-seeded Niels Vink of Netherlands, who defeated Francisco Cayulef of Chile 6-2, 6-1.

Later on Tuesday, Shaw teamed up with Heath Davidson of Australia to play Broadbent and Britain's Gregory Slade in the men's wheelchair doubles quarterfinals.