Against Wawrinka, Medvedev went from the wicked US Open to the magician

NEW YORK – Daniil Medvedev has become a worthy villain in the eyes of the demanding crowd at the US Open in a sensational first week at this year's tournament. But under the bright sun Tuesday, he moulted right in front of their eyes in a magician.

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The 23-year-old Russian has followed his busy and intense month of August by becoming the youngest semifinalist of the US Open for a decade. Entering the competition, many have assumed that he would be too gassed to do a deep race, but here he is, thanks to the deconstruction of his former champion Stan Wawrinka, a trick Medvedev accomplished in 2 hours 34 minutes , 7-6 (8), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.

Medvedev triumphed the triple Grand Slam champion, apparently by a sleight of hand. Despite an obvious injury, he made remarkable shots, like so many rabbits, scarves, watches and coins, drawn from an apparently empty hat. "He was playing very well," said Wawrinka after the match. "He's really strong, he has a tough game to play in. I've never really found the good pace I wanted to stay out and be offensive."

Medvedev has a lot to do with the fact that Wawrinka is unable to find a comfort zone because he has a game that changes shape and a way of seeing, now, not to prevent his opponents from knowing what he's doing. go do. do it anytime.

Gilles Cervara, his coach, said after the match: "You know, it's as if the guys did not know how to play [him]because his ball seems easy to play but it is really hard. He covers the field so well and his mentality is stronger and stronger. "After further research, Cervara went on the hunt:" His game is like his personality. Very different. I've already said once, it's like driving a genie. "

Earlier in the tournament, Medvedev showed a genius primarily for the dark arts. He mistreated a ball guard during his third round win, pointed to a middle finger at the crowd who was making fun of him and responded to their calls by thanking them saying that it was their hostility that gave him the energy to cross the finish line. despite his fatigue.

He also clashed with the crowd in his next game, but by the time he finished a weird little victory dance and addressed the crowd, much of the hooting seemed to have been shy. Later, he assumed ownership of his previous acts, telling reporters after this victory in the fourth round: "Speaking of the last game, I was an idiot, to be honest, I did things that I'm not proud and working to be a better person on the ground, because I think I'm a good person out of court. "

Not just a good person, but a convincing player who was politely welcomed if not warmly for his last match. This would change over the next two hours and more unpredictable.

The Medvedev Magic Show began with a tour of the artist's repertoire of escape: the kinesthetic band on various parts of its flexible 6-foot-6 inch frame replacing the chains. At the beginning of the match, he seemed barely able to move adequately, not to mention the challenge to one of the most feared tennis strikers.

This impression was reinforced when, at 4-3 of the first set, Medvedev summoned the coach to receive treatment on his left quadriceps. He played delicately for the next two games, having been massaged and heavily wrapped. He thought that he might not be able to continue long. When Wawrinka returned to tie at 5-all, it seemed that Medvedev, as a result of Novak Djokovic's lead in the previous round may well be Wawrinka's second consecutive victory in retirement.

But Medvedev did cut off the restrictive ribbon and he continued, in the manner of Houdini, to win the tiebreak of the first set. Handling the game? Wawrinka did not think so.

"I do not care," he says. "I saw him play in the last few games and I thought he was in pain, and of course, he was in pain, when I saw that he was taking his time, it was not a problem for me, I knew that he would fight anyway and that he was a hard player to beat. "

Medvedev has shown genius in seizing the dislike of the crowd in previous matches as an emotional fuel. On Tuesday, he found a way to use his compromised condition to tame Wawrinka's power play.

Medvedev was constantly changing the pace of the rallies. He let Wawrinka guess by changing his position back. He would powder flat and tear the backs. The oldest trick of tennis is the drop-lob combination, but it's a risky game at the professional level. The stratagem worked repeatedly for Medvedev, thanks to his ability to pierce delicate lobs that embraced distant baselines, even in an uncomfortable position. He did not seem terribly impressed by his own performance.

"The way I won was pretty ugly," he said afterwards "because that's what I had to do.I am still very painful in the leg.I knew I had to to play without rhythm Some games I did not have to run – to relax my leg I hit hard, then suddenly I was throwing in the center I knew I should not give him a beat [because] crucial moments maybe it will miss it. That's what worked. "

Wawrinka, for one, would have been more than happy to find an equally ugly game. Medvedev turned out to be a birthday candle that you can blow forever but never extinguish. "I was not at my best today," admitted the Swiss. "I did not move very well, I did not mix my game enough and in the end it was a fight."

Do not be fooled by the mercurial nature of Medvedev's game, or imagine that he is one of those capricious, creative geniuses who turns hot and cold, with results as unpredictable as his selection of throws.

Medvedev has had remarkable success during the current season (he is 19 years old with a Masters title and two other finals since Wimbledon). Graduate of ATP's Next Gen campaign, Medvedev has already developed a degree of consistency allowing him to be in the top five. He leads the tour this year with 49 wins. It was his 10th quarter-final in 2019. He has not lost one yet.

Medvedev made peace with the fans, at least on his side. When a journalist asked him if he thought the fans had forgiven him, Medvedev said, "Let's hope it's not for me to decide, I got what I deserved. I work to be better, can show the good side of myself. "

Wawrinka saw this good side of things after the end of the match, placed in the net for the handshake. The two men spoke briefly. "He just said that he was sorry, and he was really hurt and it was nothing with me," said Wawrinka. "I told him that it was not serious, no problem, he plays very well and good luck for the future."

The future suddenly announces more promise for Medvedev when he leaves the Arthur Ashe Stadium Court. One of the first people he saw informed him that he would have two days off because of the offbeat schedule of the second week that the USTA likes. "It's a huge advantage over what happened to my leg," he said. "I do not want to say anything right now, but I think it should be fine."

Medvedev might have to beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal fought on Friday and Sunday to win the tournament. He will need all the magic that he can muster.