Daniil Medvedev defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of the US Open tennis

Serbia’s 23-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will face Daniil Medvedev, who beat the Serbian in the US Open final two years ago, in the main match of the US Open on Sunday in New York. This became clear after Djokovic first dealt with American Ben Shelton in three games, and Medvedev sensationally broke the resistance of the world ranking leader and last year’s champion, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, in four sets.

It was just a semi-final. However, the victory that Daniil Medvedev won over Carlos Alcaraz, in terms of resonance, is quite comparable to the triumph of the Russian two years ago in the US Open final against Novak Djokovic, when the Serb needed only one to achieve an incredibly rare achievement – winning all Grand Slam tournaments in one season match. These meetings turned out to be completely different both in scenario and in the content of the game, but the parallels between them are obvious. On the same court, which in terms of speed and other characteristics suits the Russian perfectly, he, due to his highest skill, managed to suppress his opponent both tactically and psychologically. As a result, it turned out that the overwhelming majority of forecasters who gave a clear preference to Alcaraz were put to shame.

“Before this meeting, I said that I had to play 11 out of 10, but it turned out, not counting the third set, – 12 out of 10,” said Daniil Medvedev when it was all over. “But against him (meaning Alcaraz.— “Kommersant”) no other way”. At first, however, there was no sensation. Medvedev, as often happens with him, had a rather difficult time entering the game, as a result of which in the fourth game he had to fight back two break points. But having done this, thanks primarily to his quality serve, he found his rhythm and was clearly better than Alcaraz in the tiebreak, during which the Spaniard clearly became nervous. As a result, just like in the quarterfinals against Andrey Rublev, a strange situation arose in the first game. Medvedev won four points less with active strikes and made three more unforced errors, but overall he kept the game for himself. Moreover, in six games on the Spaniard’s serve, he did not have a single break point. That is, this was a very valuable case from a psychological point of view when success came to one of the rivals not through an easy struggle, but through overcoming, while the other “crumbled” at the most inopportune moment.

And there was no doubt that the current champion suffered a moral knockdown. Medvedev played the second set just perfectly, giving up only two points on his serve and breaking twice. Most of the Spaniard’s attacking impulses were neutralized in the bud, and there was a moment when Alcaraz openly wilted. Although it was impossible to count on everything ending so simply. The Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic, during which Alcaraz frankly failed his opening and then managed to turn the tide of the fight, demonstrated that the nervous system of the star Spaniard is capable of quickly mobilizing and in such situations he becomes even more dangerous.

It is not surprising that the third party remained with Alcaraz. Its outcome was predetermined by the fourth service game of the Russian, who twice went to the net and failed there both times. As is customary in such cases, the climax was approaching, which was supposed to predetermine either Medvedev’s complete victory or a final turning point. But there was no breakthrough. In the third game, Medvedev saved three break points, and soon pulled out a marathon sixth game on Alcaraz’s serve, during which it was exactly seven times. Serving for the match in the ninth game, the Russian again had problems – the opponent could take his serve three times with one blow. However, Medvedev survived. In the last combination, he served perfectly, played a counter move and finished it off with a smash. As a result – 7:6 (7:3), 6:1, 3:6, 6:3 in 3 hours 19 minutes.

By and large, Medvedev did not present his opponent with any tactical surprises. It’s just that, overall, he showed an outstanding level of play for himself, sometimes pulling off unrealistically beautiful plays. The Russian’s victory was predetermined by his excellent game on the first serve – 82% of the points won. And now, in his third final at the US Open, he will play with the same Novak Djokovic, who, at 36 years old, thanks to his victory over American Ben Shelton in three games – 6:3, 6:2, 7:6 (7:4) – in For the fourth time this season, he has reached the decisive stage of the Grand Slam tournaments.

Djokovic looks great. At the last four tournaments – Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open – he lost only one match out of 28 – the already mentioned London final. Apparently, it will be even more difficult for Medvedev on Sunday than against Alcaraz, but after what happened on Friday, no one will call the Russian’s opponent a clear favorite. Especially remembering his runaway victory over Djokovic in the 2021 US Open final.

Evgeniy Fedyakov