Daniil Medvedev predicted that he would need to play “11 out of 10” to get past defending champion and top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open on Friday.
How did Medvedev rate his performance against Alcaraz in the semi-finals?
“I played 12 out of 10,” Medvedev said after eliminating Alcaraz 7-6 (7/3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a rematch in the final against Novak Djokovic, a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/4) winner over unseeded American Ben Shelton earlier on Friday.
Photo: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY
Medvedev, the No. 3 seed, won his lone major championship at Flushing Meadows in 2021 by defeating 23-time Slam winner Djokovic in that year’s title match. That prevented Djokovic from completing what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969.
Even before the start of these two weeks, people had been anticipating a Djokovic versus Alcaraz showdown on the final day of the event.
Medvedev stood in the way.
“These kind of matches can happen,” Alcaraz said.
Alcaraz — who will relinquish the No. 1 ranking to Djokovic no matter what happens today — had been trying to become the first man to claim consecutive championships in New York since Roger Federer won five in a row from 2004 to 2008.
Alcaraz spoke days earlier about his growth over the past 12 months and how much more mature he’s become.
“After this match, I’m going to change my mind,” Alcaraz said. “I’m not mature enough.”
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei bowed out in the semi-finals alongside partner Wang Xinyu of China in a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) defeat to Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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