By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, September 6, 2023
Daniil Medvedev withstood brutal conditions and buddy Andrey Rublev in a scorching 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 triumph to reach his fourth US Open semifinal.
Photo credit: Sarah Stier/Getty
NEW YORK—Leaning on his Technifibre racquet as if it were a cane, Daniil Medvedev was staggered and soaked in sweat.
A defiant Medvedev dug in and made a stand.
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Surviving savage heat and ballistic ball striker Andrey Rublev, Medvedev rallied from a break down in each set scoring a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 triumph to advance to the US Open semifinals for the fourth time.
“It was brutal. The only good thing I see in this conditions is we both suffer so it’s tough for both of us,” Medvedev told EPSN’s Darren Cahill afterward. “I do think there were some ups and downs but it’s so normal.
“Honestly, at the end of the first set I kind of couldn’t see the ball anymore. I kind of play with sensations just try to go for it, try to run, try to catch the balls and hit it.
“Sometimes, before the point I was like wow it seems like he cannot run anymore so I tried to [hit] one and one and one and he was like there all the time. I was like, damn, when is he gonna be tired? But actually we were tired all the time. So brutal conditions and super tough to win.”
On a sticky, sweltering day that left both men gulping deep breaths of air between points, Medvedev wrapped ice towels around his neck on changeovers, combated blurry vision, called for the tournament doctor at one point and summed up the suffering in steam bath conditions with a candid confession late in the third set.
“You cannot imagine…one player gonna die and then you gonna see,” Medvedev said into the court-side camera during a draining third set.
The 2021 US Open champion will face either reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz or Olympic gold-medal champion Alexander Zverev in Friday’s semifinals.
A gritty Medvedev has dropped only two sets fighting into the final four and graded his performance so far as “10 out of 10.”
“Every match was a hell of a fight and I’m through to the semis so that’s great,” Medvedev said. “Looking forward for the match tonight, to see it, and then prepare for the winner.”
What will it take for Medvedev to reach his third US Open final in the last five years?
Channeling his inner Spinal Tap, Medvedev said he's got to push his level to "11 out of 10."
"It needs to be 11 out of 10 because yeah, that's how Carlos is, very strong," Medvedev said. "Even here I think he lost one set but I watch some matches, sometimes on breakpoints he runs for the passing shots. Incredible stuff.
"So let's see tonight. Let's see how Sascha recovered. I don't know. It's going to be interesting to see, because he was not in good shape two days ago."
The Russians have been friends since childhood, Rublev is Godfather to Medvedev's 11-month-old daughter, and they put each other through the wringer today combining for 13 service breaks and grueling rallies. Despite the straight-sets scoreline, Medvedev won just seven more points (102 to 95) in this two hour, 48-minute sweaty skirmish.
Spare a thought for Rublev, who was clearly suffering several times bending over to try to recover between points. Though Rublev fought valiantly and departed court to an ovation from fans, he faced familiar major frustration.
The eighth-ranked Rublev fell to 0-9 in Grand Slam quarterfinals—the worst major quarterfinal mark in the Open Era—including 0-4 in Flushing Meadows quarterfinals.
Facing a 2-4 deficit in the third set, Medvedev was mentally fully prepared to face a fourth—after a cold shower—but summoned the strength to win four consecutive games and close.
“I know he never gives up, but the thing is he knows I never do,” Medvedev said. “A few moments in the third set—I think he was up a break two or three times—I was like at least there’s a 10-minute break. I couldn’t wait to go to the cold shower.
“Apparently from what I heard, when you come out after the cold shoulder either you can’t move, your body locks, or you feel better. So I was like I don’t care, I just go to cold shower and see what happens. Luckily, I didn’t need to do it, so I’ll go now.”
Amid a sweltering mid-afternoon sun, Medvedev looked sluggish at the start.
Rublev rampaged through 10 consecutive points and 12 of the first 13 points seizing a 3-0 lead.
Finding his feet and accelerating his swings, Medvedev responded winning 12 of the next 13 points to level.
Though Rublev isn’t the quickest man on tour, he did a good job taking the small steps necessary to run around his backhand and club his favored forehand.
Twenty-nine minutes into the match, Rublev ran around the backhand, but fired his forehand down the line long ceding the break and a 5-4 lead to his buddy.
Medvedev rolled through a convincing close at 15 to snatch a one-set lead. The 2021 US Open champion was 25-0 at the Open when winning the opening set.
An red-face Rublev nearly erupted in rage after drawing Medvedev forward with a dropper only to badly bungle a routine open court volley. That miscue cost Rublev the break to start the second set.
Since Rublev won the opening three games, Medvedev won seven of the next eight games and had all the momentum. Out of nowhere, Medvedev dumped a double fault into the middle of the net gifting the break back.
The second set followed a similar script as the first with Rublev opening a 3-1 lead only to see Medvedev level after six games.
The physicality of baseline rallies intensified as neither man was moving forward too much. Medvedev’s rock-solid backhand helped him carve out another break for a 4-3 lead after 77 minutes.
Exhausting rallies began slowing both men between points. A weary Rublev learned over and tugged at his ankles after dropping serve.
After that seventh game, Medvedev called for the physio and took some tablets.
Play resumed and so did the pain. Bending over at the waist and times, Rublev was taking deep gulps of air.
The red-haired Russian attacked behind a diagonal forehand, but testing Medvedev’s two-handed pass is never a wise move. Medvedev roped a running backhand pass winner breaking with a bang to take a two-set lead.
The pair combined for six service breaks in that second set before departing for a clothing change.
A punishing third game of the third set waged on for about 13 minutes with Medvedev fending off a couple of break points. The third seed spit up his ninth double fault gifting a draining break and 2-1 third-set lead to Rublev.
A feisty Rublev repelled three match points in a 14-minute game only to double fault and face a fourth match. Digging in, Rublev hit a forehand drive volley winner erasing a fourth match point.
On the fifth match point, Rublev shoveled a forehand into net to end a sweaty struggle.
A weary Medvedev looked like he wanted to raise his arms in triumph but instead leaned on his Tecnifibre racquet as if it were a cane to stabilize himself for the post-match handshake.