After surviving Fabio Fognini in the last round, second seed Daniil Medvedev met Pablo Carreno Busta in Tokyo Olympics 2020 quarterfinals. However, this time around, he had to pull up his socks to make it into the last four. But despite the help of rescheduling, Medvedev lost his chance at a maiden Olympic medal, losing the match 6-2, 7-6(5).

Inarguably, the Spaniard Carreno Busta so far has exhibited some of his best tennis in the capital city of Japan. Therefore, he came in with confidence to battle past the Russian in the Olympic medal race.

As for Medvedev, he still hadn’t been comfortable in the Tokyo heat. Naturally, it direly affected his performance in the opening set of the quarterfinal.

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Daniil Medvedev vs Pablo Carreno Busta, Set 1: Tokyo Olympics 2020 QF

It was Carreno Busta who started the proceedings of the match with a comfortable hold of serve. Subsequently, Medvedev also registered a 40-0 service hold, stating he was ready for another battle.

However, as time went by on the court, the Russian started to feel unsettled. Consequently, at 3-2, Medvedev had to save four break points opportunities, in which he failed in the last attempt.

Following that, the Australian Open 2021 finalist again could not hold his serve and lost the set 6-2. The question remained: Would Busta continue his level in the second set to reach Tokyo Olympics semifinals?

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Medvedev vs Carreno Busta: Set 2

Getting straight to business, both players started the same way as the opening set. At 1-1, Medvedev made the first move and took down the service game of the Spaniard. Certainly, he had no plans to leave Tokyo soon.

Afterward, the pair engaged in longer rallies than the previous set, giving their all to each point. Since the Russian only had to hold service now, pressure shifted to Pablo Carreno Busta.

Eventually, the reigning Hamburg Open champion recovered his loss and leveled the match 4-4. There was no stopping him once he got back into the set.

Trailing 2-6, 5-6, Medvedev yet again had to see his service game through to remain in the competition. Down 30-0, he somehow lifted his game to drag the set to a tiebreaker.

Ultimately, Carreno Busta showed resilience to go to the next round and quickly got himself a 4-2 lead. Although Medvedev tried to get back into the match, it was too late for him. The final score was 6-2, 7-6(5).

In the semifinals, Carreno Busta will meet another Russian Karen Khachanov. Will he go on to book a silver or gold medal for Spain this year?

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