A badly cramping Daniil Medvedev won a brutal all-Russian clash against Andrey Rublev Thursday to move into his first Australian Open semi-final, warning he was playing at "an amazing level". The fourth seed had more firepower than his younger, eighth-seeded rival in scorching conditions on Rod Laver Arena, grinding him down 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 to extend his win-streak to 19 matches. His reward is a last-four clash with either 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal or fifth-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas.

"I would say the three last points when I was getting ready for the serve I could not really move my left leg," he said, with both players cramping in the "super-tough" conditions. "But I`ve known him a long time and I know how to neutralise his big shots.  That`s definitely one of the best matches I`ve played lately, not even just here but last year," Medvedev added.