World No.5 Daniil Medvedev is closing in on his maiden Grand Slam title at the US Open after disposing of Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old overcame some challenging play from across the court to win 7-6(6), 6-3, 7-6(5), at the Arthur Ashe Stadium with the help of an emphatic service display. Where he won 89% of his first service points and fired 16 aces en route to victory. Although it wasn’t all plain-sailing for Medvedev who for the first time in the tournament showed signs of physical issues after having two medical treatments during the later stages of his match.
“It was a very tactical game today and I am very happy to go through,” he said during his on-court interview.
“Usually Andrey is very aggressive but he was trying to put the ball into the court more. So at one point in the match I started to really go for it, be aggressive and in the third set tiebreaker it worked out.”
Taking on his childhood friend for the third time on the ATP Tour, the third seed was given a stern test early on in the all-Russian showdown. Throughout the opening set Medvedev’s powerful ball-striking was matched by Rublev’s ability to block the attack with a use of angle shots. Paving way for 12 straight games to occur with no break points. To add to the tension, the match was briefly halted for five-minutes due to an unexpected power cut at the Billie Jean King Tennis Center towards the business end.
Medvedev continued to face obstacles in the tiebreak with a couple of unforced errors enabling Rublev to open up at 5-1 lead. However, the world No.14 buckled at the worst possible moment with a series of tentative shots and mistakes allowing last year’s finalist to eventually level up at 6-6. Then Medvedev reached his own set point opportunity thanks to another error from across the court before serving the set out with an ace. Prompting a furious outburst from Rublev during the changeover directed towards his team in the stands.
After suffering the mini scare, Medvedev raised his level as the match progressed with the help of an almost perfect service display during the second set where he won 20 out of 23 points. Increasing the intensity in his shot-making, he broke for the first time with a smash at the net to extend his lead to a set and 4-2. Another blow for a frustrated Rublev who seemed to have received an audio obscenity in the following game for a scream of rage. Although the umpire said he heard him say something without specifying. Not that the incident had any impact on Medvedev’s surge to a two-set lead.
Closing in on his second consecutive US Open semi-final, the threat Medvedev faced wasn’t just Rublev but his own body too. Down 4-5 in the third frame, proceedings were halted once again after he sought a medical time out for treatment on his right shoulder. Two games on from them he also had a different treatment on his upper left leg for cramps. Despite the decline in his fitness on the court, Medvedev still managed to find a way to seal the match in straight sets after coming through another tightly contested tiebreak.
‘It was tough at the end. That’s why for the first time in maybe a year I actually celebrated that win. I felt I could get in trouble. It was a really tough match. Andrey was playing unbelievable,” he reflected.
‘He was playing really good and I am really happy with my win.”
Medvedev is yet to drop a set in the tournament. Should he continue this trend and eventually lift the title on Sunday he would become the first player in the Open Era to have done so at the New York major. Awaiting him in the next round will be either Dominic Thiem or Alex de Minaur.
