Daniil Medvedev advanced to the US Open semi-finals for the fourth time in five years, overcoming fellow Russian Andrey Rublev and hot, humid conditions 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.
Medvedev, the third seed and 2021 US Open champion, appeared to be having breathing problems in the near 35 degree heat, twice calling for a doctor on changeovers.
But it didn’t seem to show in his play. Medvedev frequently traded long rallies with Rublev — 34 strokes being the longest — and scrambled for every shot. He ran nearly the length of the court to hit a winner off a drop shot in the final set to earn his first match point.
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Rublev saved that one and three more in an 18-point final game before finally succumbing on the fifth, with an exhausted forehand into the net.
“The only good thing I see in these conditions is both suffer,” a sweat-drenched Medvedev said in his on-court interview in a partially closed Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Honestly at the end of the first set I kind of couldn’t see the ball anymore. I kind of played with sensations. You just try to go for it, try to run, try to catch the ball.”
For Rublev, the No.8 seed and such a close friend to Medvedev that he’s the godfather to his first-born daughter, it marked more grand slam frustration: It was his ninth trip to the quarterfinals of a major without advancing to the semis, and the third time he was denied by Medvedev.
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Medvedev, who also appeared to have breathing problems in his previous four-set win against Alex de Minaur, at one point in the first set was checked by a doctor with a stethoscope and administered an inhaler.
While towelling off sweat midway through the third set, he grumbled to a courtside camera, “One player gonna die and they’re going to see.”
In such exhausting and humid conditions, it was Medvedev who was able to dig into the necessary energy reserves to claim the victory.
There was little to separate the two Russians with long rallies and games making it even harder for the players on court.
After battling the conditions and a tough opponent, Medvedev showed why he’s a real contender for this year’s title, coming from a break down in each set in the impressive victory.
Medvedev, also the runner-up at Flushing Meadows in 2019 and a semi-finalist in 2020, will await the winner of the match between top-seeded defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and No.12, Alexander Zverev, who won a fourth-round match-up against Jannik Sinner that lasted 4 hours, 41 minutes.