US Open 2024: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner beats Daniil Medvedev to reach first semi-final and face Jack Draper
At least everyone was able to sleep soundly for once. Who could have predicted this? Who could have expected that at midnight the crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium would be heading for the subway? Who could have imagined that this quarterfinal between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev would not be a fierce battle until the early hours of the morning?
This was, after all, their third Grand Slam meeting this year. At Wimbledon and in Australia, they had gone the distance. Together, those matches had lasted nearly eight hours. By comparison, that was a record time, and in the end, Sinner remains in the running for a first victory at the US Open.
After just two and a half hours of play, he had beaten the number 5 seed 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4. And the scoreboard doesn’t lie: there were very few competitive periods. It was all a bit strange. But what matters to Sinner? He’s in his first US Open semi-final and he’s certainly cleared his biggest hurdle.
Jack Draper was imperial in this tournament and he now finds himself between Sinner and a final against Frances Tiafoe or Taylor Fritz.
But the most important thing is that Medvedev was the only US Open winner left in the game. He was the only Grand Slam winner, apart from Sinner. And the Russian had already beaten the world number one at this point.
But not this year. The 2021 winner was untouchable for one set, but beyond that? He was second.
One of the peculiarities of Medvedev’s career is that since 2018 he has won more matches (268) and reached more finals (32) on hard court than anyone else. All but two of the Russian’s 20 titles have been won on that surface. But all 20 have been won in different venues – he has never won a tournament more than once. And so, just like Sinner, Medvedev was looking to innovate in New York. But at first, he was struggling just to make a serve.
The Russian gave Sinner a good chance to defend after a couple of double faults. He saved the first game but was broken the next time after another double. Sinner quickly caught the bug. After missing his second serve, Medvedev had two chances to break.
The Russian failed to take either set. And he paid the price when Sinner extended his lead and won the first set 6-2.
The world number one reached the quarter-finals after dropping just one set and had another worrying start to the season. But this was by far his toughest test. Before Wednesday’s quarter-final, Sinner had played 13 Grand Slam matches against players ranked fifth or better. He had won just three of them. And all that before winning this year’s Australian Open. Among his victims in Melbourne? Medvedev. It was a titanic struggle and the Russian was never going to back down.
Instead, in the second set, it was Sinner who was left to rue his missed opportunities. He had break chances in each of Medvedev’s first three service games. He wasted them all and quickly found himself down 5-0. Suddenly, momentum and more painful baseline rallies tipped the scales in the Russian’s favor. Suddenly, it was a three-set penalty shootout.
Medvedev had managed to equalize, but the scales quickly turned against the No. 5 seed. Soon, it was his turn to be down 5-0. Soon, he was the one asking questions of himself and the referee. The only thing that saved Medvedev? Sinner squandered three chances to secure the bagel.
It all made for a rather curious atmosphere inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. Two of the world’s best players were headed to a fourth set in a Grand Slam quarter-final. And yet the fans had been treated to very little competitive action.
There were still a few electrifying exchanges and moments of suspense. Both players had played brilliant tennis. But rarely at the same time.
The two were neck and neck for at least six games in the fourth set. Sinner saved a couple of break points before creating three more. He needed all three. The crowd wanted more. It pushed Medvedev to take them further into the evening. This time, however, he failed.
