By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday September 8, 2023
Daniil Medvedev knocked off defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to return to the US Open final, where Novak Djokovic waits.
Photo Source: Getty
For several weeks, tennis pundits have plugged into the blooming rivalry between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, pointing towards a fifth meeting between the two in the US Open final.
Daniil Medvedev was happy to play spoiler on Friday night in New York.
The Russian rolled past Alcaraz in four sets, 7-6(3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, to reach his fifth Grand Slam final and third at the US Open, ending the Spaniard’s bid to become the first man to successfully defend the US Open men’s singles title since 2008 at the penultimate hurdle.
After his win over Andrey Rublev on Wednesday, Medvedev stated that he’d need to play “11 out of 10” tennis, and on Friday he admitted that he one-upped himself.
"I said I needed to play 11 out of 10. I played 12 out of 10, except the third set," Medvedev said on court. "That's the only way. I don't know if he's still 20 or 21, but [he is] so young, already two Grand Slams, World No. 1 for many weeks. It's honestly just pretty unbelievable and I think nobody has done it before him. To beat him, you need to be better than yourself and I managed to do it."
Medvedev served lights out, winning 18 of 19 service games and saving eight of nine break points as he snapped a two-match losing streak to the top-ranked Spaniard.
Next up, he’ll try to replicate his success in the 2021 final against Novak Djokovic – he defeated the Serbian 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the final that year, ending Djokovic’s bid for the calendar year Grand Slam and winning his first major.
"The challenge is to play a guy who won 23 Grand Slams and I have only one," Medvedev said. "When I beat him here, I managed to play better than myself and I need to do it again. There is no other way."
The Russian improved to 5-2 in Grand Slam semifinals as he shook off the loss of the third set and rebounded in set four, breaking Alcaraz for 4-2, then saving three break points in the final game as he served out the contest to improve to 29-5 lifetime at the US Open.
More to follow…