At the US Open, Daniil Medvedev projected that he would need to play “11 out of 10” to beat reigning champion and top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz.
How did Medvedev rank his performance in the semifinals versus Alcaraz on Friday night?
“I played 12 out of 10,” Medvedev said after defeating Alcaraz 7-6 (3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 to set up a rematch in the final against Novak Djokovic, who defeated unseeded American Ben Shelton 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (4) earlier Friday.
Medvedev, the No. 3 seed, won his lone major victory at Flushing Meadows in 2021, upsetting 23-time Slam winner Djokovic in the final match. This stopped Djokovic from completing what would have been men’s tennis’s first calendar-year Grand Slam since 1969.
Even before these two weeks began, many people predicted a championship match between Djokovic and Alcaraz. Theirs is an intergenerational rivalry that has captivated the tennis world in recent months (Djokovic is 36, Alcaraz is 20).
A meeting in New York on Sunday would have been a replay of Djokovic’s Cincinnati Masters final last month, Alcaraz’s Wimbledon final in July, and Djokovic’s quarterfinal at the French Open in June.
However, this was not to be.
Medvedev was a stumbling block.
“These kinds of matches can happen,” stated Alcaraz.
Alcaraz, who would lose his No. 1 status to Djokovic regardless of what happens on Sunday, had been attempting to become the first man to win consecutive New York titles since Roger Federer did it from 2004 to 2008.
Alcaraz had spoken only a few days before about his maturation over the last year.
“After this match, I’m going to change my mind,” Alcaraz said. “I’m just not mature enough.”
Instead, Medvedev, a 27-year-old Russian, will compete in his third US Open final in five years and fifth major championship match overall.
He lost against Rafael Nadal at New York in 2019 and the Australian Open in 2022, and to Novak Djokovic in 2021.
“The challenge is that you play a guy who has won 23 Grand Slams, and I only have one,” Medvedev remarked, referring to his upcoming match against Djokovic. “I managed to outplay myself when I beat him here, so I need to do it again.” There is no other option.”
Medvedev has already lost to Alcaraz twice this season, most recently in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Those head-to-head results worried Medvedev.
“There were definitely a lot of doubts before the match,” he said.
But Medvedev rose to the occasion, beating a world No. 1 for the sixth match (the only current players with more victories against ATP No. 1s are Nadal (23), Djokovic (16), and Andy Murray (12)) and extending his unrivalled dominance on hard court. Nobody has won more matches (235), appeared in more finals (28), or won more championships (18) on hard courts since the beginning of 2018.
He stood far back to return serves and would conjure up passing shots “from his house,” Alcaraz said, observing that Medvedev struck his forehand harder than normal.
Medvedev took the following four points and the set from 3-all in the first tiebreaker.
“I totally [lost] my mind,” Alcaraz said.
When Medvedev went up 3-0 in the second set, Alcaraz walked to the sideline and considered slamming his racket against a pair of plastic bottles on the floor near his seat, but he restrained himself.
“It was difficult for me to stay calm,” Alcaraz said.
Both guys had flashes of brilliance, displays of athleticism, instincts, and shot-making that drew spectators out of their seats.
Juan Carlos Ferrero, the 2003 French Open winner and Alcaraz’s coach, was also often seen leaping from his seat in a corner guest box at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Throughout the second set, Ferrero was concerned as the match appeared to be slipping away from him, keeping up a steady patter of instructions and exhortations in Spanish.
Everything helped, if only temporarily. In the third set, Alcaraz really got going, and his net-charging tactics, which included a lot of serve-and-volleying, were successful. He won 54 of the 70 points he scored at the net.
Medvedev served as well as he ever has. He saved eight of the nine break opportunities he faced and then often won the match’s shortest points, winning 101 of the 174 four-stroke exchanges.
“Against someone like Carlos, you have to serve well,” Medvedev said. “You have no other choice.”
The last twist occurred in the fourth set, when Alcaraz was serving down 3-2. It was a nearly 15-minute game studded with a slew of brilliant returns by the lanky Medvedev, whose long arms seem to get his racket to everything.
When one of Medvedev’s returns landed, Alcaraz glanced up and clasped his hands as if to say, “Thank you!”
Alcaraz, on the other hand, missed one volley and then couldn’t quite deliver when he sought for a sinking, angled backhand return.
“That game was amazing,” Medvedev later said.
It gave Medvedev the lead and an advantage he would not surrender, even though he did have to set aside a pair of double-faults when serving for the win as some fans shouted to disturb him.
“That isn’t very pleasant. “However, I’m glad it didn’t help them,” Medvedev stated. “They can go to sleep now.”
Alcaraz was asked how long he would dwell on this setback.
“Days? Weeks? “I’m not sure,” he said. “I don’t think I’m going to think about this loss for a long time.”
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