Daniil Medvedev managed to shrug off an injury scare to beat fellow Russian countryman, Andrey Rublev, in straight sets and book his place in the US Open semi-finals.
Medvedev, who was the runner-up in 2019, required treatment for a shoulder injury and cramp halfway through the third set but managed to seal a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory.
Since the Roland Garros in 2007 when Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko got to the quarter-finals, the pair becomes the first Russian duo to reach the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam event.
Medvedev also hit 50 winners in comparison to Rublev’s 22 to win in straight-sets meaning he’s yet to drop a set in this year’s tournament.
No player in the Open Era has won the US Open men’s title without dropping a set and it’s left to be seen if Medvedev can go on to win this year’s event with his record intact.
But first, he would need to overcome his next hurdle where he will meet either the second seed Dominic Thiem or Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals.
Watch the match highlights below…
Medvedev, after the match, says: “It was tough at the end, that was why for the first time in almost a year I actually celebrated my win,”
“I felt like I could get in trouble so I was really happy to get the win after that tough tie-break. One point decided two sets, so it was a really tough yet.
“Andrey played unbelievably. He played really well, so I’m very happy with my win.”
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Rublev and Medvedev who are lifelong friends swung with serve in the first set before Rublev let slip a golden opportunity to become the first man to take a set off Medvedev in the tournament, letting slip a 5-1 lead in the tie-break.
Rublev’s emotion was on full display afterwards as he could be seen ramming his racket into the court. He also received a code violation for an audible obscenity after Medvedev broke for the first time in the match to go 4-2 up in the second set.
Medvedev took charge and controlled the match up until midway through the third set when he called for a medical time-out at 4-5 down in the set when his movement became restricted.
Under increasing pressure given his evident physical issues, Medvedev managed to eke out another tight tie-break to take the match and book his place back in the last four.
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