Daniil Medvedev says the hot and humid conditions at the US Open have the potential to be “dangerous” for players after he booked a berth in the men’s semifinals.
Key points:
Medvedev and Rublev played through stifling humidity in their quarterfinalThe 2021 men’s champion is concerned about player welfare in the heatMedvedev will meet defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal
On another steamy day with temperatures hovering above 30 degrees Celsius in New York, Medvedev got past fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in just under three hours.
He will meet world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal, after last year’s winner beat Alexander Zverev 6-3. 6-2, 6-4.
At one stage between points during the third set, Medvedev complained to an on-court camera inside Arthur Ashe Stadium while wiping off sweat: “You cannot imagine, one player is going to die and then they’re going to see.”
After the match, the 2021 US Open men’s champion said he would have been worried about his and Rublev’s welfare had the match gone the distance to five sets.
“We left everything out there,” Medvedev said.
“The only thing that is a little bit … dangerous, is that the question is: how far could we go?”
The US Open this year has experimented with partially closing the roofs of their stadiums to provide more shade during day matches.
But unlike the Australian Open, the tournament has no policy allowing for the suspension of play due to extreme heat.
Medvedev said he does not have the answers but wanted to be on the record as saying he was concerned.
“Probably we cannot stop the tournament for four days because … then it basically ruins everything, the TV, even the tickets,” said Medvedev, who is the men’s third seed.
“Could we go to three sets when the conditions are like this? Also some guys are not going to be happy.
“I don’t have real solutions but it’s still better to speak a little bit about it before something happens.”
Rublev got the contest off to a fast start, grabbing the early break for a 3-0 lead, but Medvedev hit back, sweeping six of the next seven games to claim the set.
With the brutal conditions preventing both players from finding any rhythm, the breaks came fast and furious in the next two sets.
Twice in the second set they would trade breaks before Medvedev again was able to gain the upper hand with one more break.
Despite the straight-sets scoreline, the match came to an entertaining finish with Rublev serving at 5-4 down in the third and trying to extend the contest.
He saved four match points before Medvedev finally ended proceedings.
Alcaraz breezes past Zverev
Medvedev will next face men’s world number one and defending champion Alcaraz, who beat an exhausted Zverev in straight sets.
In little over two and a half hours, the 20-year-old proved far to strong for the 2020 US Open runner-up, who had spent over 14 hours on court in his first four matches at Flushing Meadows — and it caught up with the German.
Alcaraz faced the first break points of the match at 3-3 in the first, but as he has been able to do all year he held before gained a break himself in the very next game.
After holding the next game, he won the set, and never looked back.
Alcaraz saved all five break points he faced and converted all four he earned on Zverev’s serve.
On a sweltering evening, Alcaraz showed off several aspects of his varied game against Zverev.
The powerful forehands that elicit gasps from the crowd. The delicate drop shots. The hammered returns. The all-court speedy coverage. The willingness to try — and ability to succeed on — shots others wouldn’t even consider.
“I try to make the people enjoy watching tennis, watching the matches,” Alcaraz said during his on-court interview.
“I’ve been trying to do different shots that probably the crowd are not used to seeing in the matches … That’s what I’m trying — to put a show on,” said Alcaraz, who is 58-6 with six titles in 2023, both tour highs.
After losing the first two sets, Zverev took a medical time out, but it made little difference as Alcaraz again dominated in the big moments to seal another dominant win.
The Spaniard improved to 24-1 in his past four major tournaments: After the championship in New York 12 months ago, he sat out the Australian Open with a leg injury, made it to the semifinals of the French Open before cramping up in a loss to Novak Djokovic, and added the Wimbledon trophy by beating Djokovic in the final, before the run over these two weeks.
There could be an Alcaraz vs Djokovic rematch in Sunday’s final.
First things first, though. Alcaraz will take on 2021 US Open champion Medvedev in the final four on Friday, while 23-time grand slam champ Djokovic faces unseeded Ben Shelton, a 20-year-old American who’s never been this far at a major.
“I’m feeling really comfortable playing on this court and in New York,” Alcaraz said.
“I’m feeling great physically, mentally, my tennis game is strong.
“I’m ready to play a great battle against Medvedev in the semifinal.”
ABC/Wires
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