Daniil Medvedev defeated Andrey Rublev to advance to US Open semi-finals

Daniil Medvedev became the Russian semi-finalist of the US Open Tennis Championship, which continues in New York, who outplayed Andrei Rublev in three games in the most difficult conditions – in 35-degree heat with high air humidity. This will be Medvedev’s fourth semi-final at this tournament, the only Grand Slam he has ever won in 2021.

Giving an interview on the court of Arthur Ashe after this extraordinary meeting, Daniil Medvedev recalled the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, where the tennis tournament, according to many of its participants, was held in the worst weather in the history of their sport. In equally hellish conditions, in 35-degree heat with the highest humidity, tennis players have to sort things out now in New York. “One of us will die, and they will look at it,” Medvedev threw in his heart a little earlier, during the third game. By that time, he already had a noticeable advantage, but in order to complete the match and break the resistance of his daughter’s godfather Andrei Rublev, a lot of effort was still required.

Rublev started right off the bat, leaving behind ten draws in a row and taking a 3-0 lead. However, Medvedev bounced back just as quickly, and in the ninth game of the first game, after an opponent’s mistake, who sent the ball into touch with a right hand, he made another break. The second set turned out to be rather strange. In nine games, the Russians took someone else’s serve six times, but Medvedev did it four times, who lost again along the way – 1:3. In terms of technique and tactics on the court, compared to most of the previous matches of these two tennis players, nothing new happened. When Rublev played his trademark attacks from the back line with characteristic tight forehands, his game looked very impressive, but Medvedev, who twice had to resort to the help of a doctor who brought him an inhaler, looked generally more stable.

In the third set, friends-rivals squeezed the last juice out of themselves. Rublev went ahead again – 4:2, but he did not have enough restraint and accuracy in order to maintain the desired lead. The culmination of the match was the final tenth game on Rublev’s serve. In 15 minutes, he managed to win back four match points, but on the fifth, at the finish of a protracted rally, his shot hit the net. As a result – 6:4, 6:3, 6:4 in 2 hours 48 minutes.

Medvedev, who has shown resilience and will to win, reached the semi-finals of the US Open for the fourth time in five years, the only Grand Slam tournament he managed to win in 2021. Rublev, who won more points with active strikes (32 vs. 26) and made fewer unforced errors (37 vs. 40), failed to pass the quarterfinal stage at the majors for the ninth time. And it is unlikely that the fact that, following the results of the US Open, he practically guaranteed himself a ticket to the final tournament of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Nitto ATP Finals will serve as a serious consolation to this extremely hardworking athlete, who in this situation can only humanly sympathize.

Evgeny Fedyakov