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When Daniil Medvedev made his first US Open final two years ago, he did so to a soundtrack of frequent boos, leaning over a villainous role he acquired in a controversial match. third round and goad the crowd before finally winning with his valiant defeat. effort in the final against Rafael Nadal.
This year, on her second trip to the final, Medvedev ran leisurely through the draw, winning with little drama or excitement over teenage girls Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu, who electrified the women’s draw, and with Novak Djokovic’s quest for the Grand Slam on the other half of the men’s draw.
Second seed Medvedev advanced on Friday afternoon, beating 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
Medvedev, 25, awaits the winner of the second semi-final between favorite Djokovic and fourth favorite Alexander Zverev.
Medvedev lost only one set in the tournament, against qualifier Botic Van de Zandschulp in the quarter-finals. He spent just 11 hours and 51 minutes on the pitch en route to the final, less time it took for Fernandez to reach his final while playing best of three against best of five for the men.
Medvedev played his typical style against Auger-Aliassime, hitting big serves while neutralizing his opponent’s power by standing in the outer realms of the pitch to return.
Auger-Aliassime, 21, enjoyed success halfway through the second set, stepping forward more and more frequently to take advantage of Medvedev’s distal positioning on the court. After securing a breaking point with a 20-shootout that he finished at the net, Auger-Aliassime broke on a double fault from Medvedev to come back 4-2 in the second period.
“In the second set I think everyone felt like it was going to be a one-off set,” Medvedev said during his interview on the pitch. “You never know where the game is going.”
After increasing his lead to 5-2 with four sunk serves, Auger-Aliassime began to falter. He got two set points at 5-3, and advanced on the second, but slipped and missed a forehand volley.
“He didn’t give me a lot of openness,” Auger-Aliassime, who was playing his first major semi-final, said at his press conference. “Against a player like that, you don’t really have room for mistakes, room to lose focus, which I did at the end of the second. He took advantage of it and I had no other chance after that.
Medvedev broke two points later in a backhand missed by Auger-Aliassime.
“He missed a end, I scored a good point and the game completely reversed,” said Medvedev. “I’m really happy. I don’t think I played my best today, but I’m really happy to be in the final on Sunday.
When Auger-Aliassime served again at 5-5, he gave Medvedev a love break with three unforced errors and a double fault. Medvedev closed the set a game later with an ace. “This is the time when I could break it, mentally,” Medvedev said. “And that’s what happened.”
The third set was a rout, with Medvedev breaking in games three and five, and Auger-Aliassime no longer loading the net like he once did. Medvedev ended the match with his own adventure up front, knocking back a header Auger-Aliassime could barely reach.
Medvedev finished with 37 winners against 17 for Auger-Aliassime. Medvedev particularly dominated the game’s shorter rallies, winning 63% of points that lasted four shots or less.
This is the first US Open in which none of the semi-finalists in the men’s or women’s singles has been American. None made it past the fourth round.
There have, however, been American successes in other prints.
Robin Montgomery, 16 from Washington, DC, reached the girls’ singles final with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Solana Sierra of Argentina.
Coco Gauff, 17, of the United States, and Caty McNally, 19, reached the women’s doubles final when one of their opponents, Luisa Stefani, retired in a tiebreaking first set with a knee injury. Rajeev Ram of Indiana won the men’s doubles title with his British partner Joe Salisbury defeating Bruno Soares and Jamie Murray, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
Although Ram, 37, is older than Gauff and McNally combined, he said he saw no reason to put a finish line on his career.
“I feel like I never really put a timeline on it,” Ram said. “I appreciate it. I feel like I’m playing well. Winning stuff like that helps me think that way.
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