Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev has insisted that he is not getting ahead of himself after strolling into the quarter-finals of the US Open on Monday.
The 2019 runner-up powered his way to a 6-4, 6-1, 6-0, win over Frances Tiafoe to become the only player to have reached the last eight in New York without dropping a set. In his latest encounter, the world No.5 hit 25 winners compared to his opponents tally of seven and won 70% of his service points. In the third set alone Medvedev won 25 out of the 31 points played but he believes there is still room for further improvement.
“I could serve better. My percentage went down really significantly at one moment in the match,” he said.
“It’s always better to start the tournament maybe a little bit rusty, then to play better and better, than to start the tournament really good and maybe get burned out till the third or fourth round.’
“I was playing really good and I’m happy about my game,” he added.
Sealing a place in the quarter-final of a Grand Slam for only the second time in his career, Medvedev is being tipped as one of the title favourites following the disqualification of Novak Djokovic for accidentally hitting a ball at a lines judge. He is one of only two players left in the draw who have previously played in a major final along with Dominic Thiem.
Despite his smooth run in New York so far, Medvedev insists that it doesn’t necessarily mean that he is the strongest in the field. Saying the important thing is what happens on the day and not those leading up.
“It honestly doesn’t mean anything. What matters is the next match,” he commented about not dropping a set so far in the tournament.
“For example (Borna) Coric, who saved six match points (against Stefanos Tsitsipas), maybe he’s going to be the winner of the US Open.’
“It doesn’t matter if they lost a lot of sets coming to win the title. Doesn’t mean anything.’
“It’s great to save some energy. This counts in a Grand Slam. This is great. That’s what I’m happy about. It means that I’m playing good tennis. Hopefully I can have some more matches like this.”
Medvedev will lock horns with compatriot and friend Andrey Rublev for a place in the semi-finals on Wednesday. Rublev, who is the 10th seed in this year’s draw, battled back from behind to defeat Matteo Berrettini 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. Ensuring that two Russian men would be in the last eight of a major for the first time since the 2007 French Open.
“I think we respect each other in and out of the court. It’s always tricky to play a friend,” Medvedev said of Rublev. “It’s more unconsciously because consciously you prepare for your match, try to win it. Unconsciously you know he’s your friend since eight, know him already 16 years. There are some things going on for sure in your mentality, but you always try to get rid of it.”
Medvedev has already beaten Rublev three times during his career. Once on the Challenger Tour and twice on the ATP Tour. All three of those wins, which includes two last year, were in straight sets.
