Daniil Medvedev had admitted it would be almost impossible to beat Carlos Alcaraz, and that he would need to play “11 out of 10” to get a win.
On Friday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Medvedev pulled off a stunning 7-6 (3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 U.S. Open semifinal win over the defending champion and World No. 1.
Mission impossible? Mission accomplished.
“I managed to do it,” said Medvedev, who graded his game a 12. “All four sets I played great. … I said I need to play 11 out of 10, all the three sets I won I managed to do it. In the third set I was 9 ¹/₂, maybe 10 out of 10, and as we saw it was not enough against Carlos. I managed to play well, I managed to serve well, hit some lines in important moments, some great shots. But the tournament’s not over.”
No, it won’t end until Sunday.
That’s when third-seeded Medvedev will play a finals rematch with Novak Djokovic, whom he beat for the U.S. Open title two years ago.
“Novak, when he loses, he’s never the same after. So he’s different. It’s just a different mentality. That’s why he has 23 Grand Slams,” Medvedev said. “So I have to use [that final] knowing that he’s going to be 10 times better than he was that day. And I have to be, if I want to still beat him, 10 times better than I was that day. That’s what I’m going to try to do.”
Medvedev’s win in that 2021 final at Flushing Meadows kept Djokovic from pulling off the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since 1969. And Medvedev put on a tactical master class on Friday to earn a rematch.
Against a red-hot Alcaraz, Medvedev, already a renowned defender, not only served well, but also set up shop far back off the line to return serves. Then, he pulled off some miraculous returns and spectacular passing shots.
“He’s one of the best returners on the tour,” the 20-year-old Alcaraz said. “That obviously is amazing how he can return from the back of the court really deep and really powerful. He’s amazing.
“And when I do serve-and-volley, he always finds the passing shot from his house.”
With the first-set tiebreaker knotted at 3-all, Medvedev untied it by winning the next four points to take the set.
The 27-year-old Russian then put Alcaraz on his back foot, jumping out to a 3-0 second-set lead as the Spaniard showed some rare temper on the court.
“I totally [lost] my mind,” said Alcaraz, who settled in to win the third set.
But the fourth set — and the match — belonged to Medvedev.
Alcaraz was serving while down 3-2 in the fourth set, but amid a long game that took almost 15 minutes, he couldn’t convert a backhand return.
Medvedev took the lead and held it, though some Alcaraz fans tried to distract him as he served out the match.
“The last game of the match, probably a thousand Spanish guys started yelling and shouting between first and second serve. That’s not nice,” said Medvedev, who added, “But I’m happy it didn’t help them. They can go to sleep now.”
And he can go on to the finals.
