Only one of the other three semifinalists have previously competed in a Slam semifinal. That would be Grigor Dimitrov, who is into his third Major semi. His presence here is a huge surprise considering he was 1-7 leading up to this tournament. Dimitrov will face 23-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev, who unlike Dimitrov has been the hottest player on tour this summer. And in the other semifinal, Nadal will face 23-year-old Italian Matteo Berrettini, who hadn’t won a match since Wimbledon prior to this event. To summarize, these semifinals feature the Rogers Cup champ, the Cincinnati champ, and two men who didn’t win a hard court match this summer before this fortnight.
Daniil Medvedev (5) vs. Grigor Dimitrov
Both of these men are surprising semifinalists, but for very different reasons. Medvedev is 19-2 this summer on hard courts, and has reached the final of every event he’s entered. While he’s obviously been hampered by injuries after playing so much tennis over the past six weeks, he’s adjusted his game as required by his body and his opponent to reach this stage. He certainly made a villain out of himself during this fortnight, though he made nice with the New York crowd after his victory over Stan Wawrinka on Tuesday. Dimitrov had a completely opposite summer, with only one match win since the French Open. But Darren Cahill gave some excellent insight on ESPN this week regarding Grigor, explaining how he’s been working with Andre Agassi and Radek Stepanek this year to rebuild his game from the ground up. This included changing to a new racket, as well as changing to a new mentality. Agassi and Stepanek decided not to travel to New York, feeling they had provided Dimitrov with a lot of information, and it was now up to him to figure things out. And that coaching strategy has certainly paid off, as Dimitrov is now playing his best tennis since two years ago. Daniil and Grigor have played twice before, both times in 2017. Dimitrov won on grass, but Medvedev prevailed on a US hard court in Washington. Daniil should benefit from having a full two days off for his body to at least slightly recover before his first Major semifinal. And I worry if Grigor will have a bit of an emotional letdown after his career-altering, first-ever defeat of the man he modeled his game after, Roger Federer. I bet against a hobbled Medvedev advancing this far due to all the tennis he’s played, and the impact on his body, but I’m not doing that today. After watching him find a way to undo opponents in the last few rounds while at much less than 100%, I’m picking Medvedev to reach his first Slam final.
Rafael Nadal (2) vs. Matteo Berrettini (24)
Berrettini survived the match of the tournament two days ago, a five-set thriller against Gael Monfils. Matteo served for the match at 5-4, but double faulted on match point. Most players would have gone away after choking like that at the finish line in the biggest match of their career, but Berrettini kept fighting, and also received some help from Monfils in the form of his own double faults. However, coming back just two days after an emotionally-draining, physically-taxing, four-hour affair to play the game’s ultimate competitor seems an insurmountable challenge. The Italian possesses offensive weapons that can be successful against Nadal, but Rafa is an expert at knowing how to make a tired and sore competitor feel pain. And Nadal is usually relentless in the semifinals at Majors: he’s 26-6 in his career, though he has lost three of his last five. All things considered, Rafa is a huge favorite to advance to his fifth US Open final.
Other notable matches on Day 12:
In the men’s doubles final earlier in the day, Wimbledon champions Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah (1) vs. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, a new team just formed this summer who are on a 10-match winning streak.
In the second women’s doubles semifinal, Indian Wells and Miami champs Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka (4) vs. Caroline Dolehide and Vania King, a new team in their first tournament. The winners will play Victoria Azarenka and Ash Barty in the final.
Order of play
(All times BST)
Arthur Ashe Stadium
From 1700:
- (1) Juan Sebastian Cabal (Col) & Robert Farah (Col) v (8) Marcel Granollers (Spa) & Horacio Zeballos (Arg)
- (5) Daniil Medvedev (Rus) v Grigor Dimitrov (Bul)
- (24) Matteo Berrettini (Ita) v (2) Rafael Nadal (Spa)
