Daniil Medvedev stuns Carlos Alcaraz in US Open semis to set up finals matchup with Novak Djokovic after hard-fought four-set victory in Queens
Daniil Medvedev stuns Carlos Alcaraz in US Open semi-final to set up final match with Novak Djokovic after hard-fought four-set win in Queens
- Novak Djokovic won the final earlier Friday with a straight sets victory
- Daniil Medvedev said he played at a ’12 out of 10′ level to beat Carlos Alcaraz
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Daniil Medvedev stunned No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz with a phenomenal four-set victory to set up a mouthwatering final against Novak Djokovic.
The Russian No. 3 seed held his nerve after Alcaraz tried, and failed, to fight back from two sets down.
After claiming the third, the Spaniard could not overcome the genius of Medvedev, who needed four match points to take the fourth and eventually win 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-3.
Medvedev immediately put his finger to his ear after last year’s champion’s elimination.
Now he has the chance to crush Djokovic’s US Open dreams once again. Medvedev defeated the Serbian – and denied him a calendar slam – in the 2021 edition.
It prevented Djokovic from completing what would have been the first calendar year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since Rod Laver in 1969.
Medvedev held his nerve in the first set, winning the tiebreak 7-6 before taking the second 6-1
The defending champion was defeated in stunning fashion despite having lost one set before Friday
Carlos Alcaraz saved three match points but failed to save the fourth as he lost on Friday evening
The Russian placed one finger to each ear, seemingly a rebuke to the NYC crowd
Alcaraz often tried to cheer up the audience, pointing to his ear several times
It will be Medvedev’s third Flushing Meadows final. The Russian admitted that he had played a ’12 out of 10 game’ there.
“To beat him you have to be better than yourself and tonight I did it,” he said during his on-court postgame interview.
Despite something of a love-hate relationship with the Arthur Ashe crowd, he said they were ‘incredible’ before adding a small selection of unruly Alcaraz fans ‘can go to sleep now’.
More to come…