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Medvedev advances to first Grand Slam final at US Open
NEW YORK, Sept 6, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev
advanced to his first Grand Slam final on Friday by defeating Bulgaria’s
78th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-3 at the US Open.
Medvedev will play in Sunday’s championship match at Arthur Ashe Stadium
against the winner of a later semi-final between Italian 24th seed Matteo
Berrettini and 18-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal.
“Finally I’m here after three sets,” Medvedev said. “I’m just happy to be
in the final.”
If second-seeded Nadal can capture his fourth US Open crown on Sunday, he
would move one shy of matching Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record for
Grand Slam titles.
The 33-year-old Spaniard would also draw to within one of the Open-era
record of five US Open titles shared by Roger Federer, Pete Sampras and Jimmy
Connors.
Nadal beat Medvedev in last month’s Montreal final in their only meeting,
then skipped Cincinnati, where Medvedev won the title.
Medvedev, now 20-2 in the four North American events, beat Berrettini last
year at Indian Wells in their only matchup.
“When I was going to USA, I didn’t know it was going to be this good,”
Medvedev said. “So I have to say I love USA.”
Medvedev is the first Russian in a Grand Slam final since Marat Safin won
the 2005 Australian Open title and the first Russian to reach the US Open
final since Safin won the 2000 crown.
At 23, Medvedev is just the third men’s Grand Slam finalist born in the
1990s after Canada’s Milos Raonic and Austria’s Dominic Thiem. He could
become the first ’90s-born Slam winner.
Medvedev is only the third Open Era player to reach finals in Washington,
Canada, Cincinnati and the US Open in the same year after Ivan Lendl in 1982
and Andre Agassi in 1995. Dimitrov, who lost seven of his eight matches just
prior to arriving at Flushing Meadows, would have been the lowest-ranked US
Open men’s finalist since the rankings began in 1973.
The Bulgarian was the lowest-ranked Slam semi-finalist in 11 years and the
lowest at the US Open since 174th-ranked Jimmy Connors in 1991.
US Open fans gave solid applause to Medvedev. They had booed Medvedev in
the third and fourth rounds after he flashed an obscene gesture and later
taunted them, saying he thrived on their jeers for the energy to win. He
later apologized.
Medvedev broke at love to start the match and saved two break points to
hold the second game, but Dimitrov broke back in the fourth game and they
held into a tense tie-break that Medvedev won after Dimitrov netted a
forehand and sent another long on the last two points of the first set.
Dimitrov broke to open the second set when Medvedev smacked a backhand
long but the Russian broke back at love in the second game and broke again
for a 3-1 lead on a crisp crosscourt backhand winner.
Dimitrov answered with a forehand winner on his fourth break chance of the
fifth game but Medvedev converted on his next break chance in the 10th game
and took the set when Dimitrov netted a backhand.
Medvedev broke for a 3-1 lead in the third set and held to the finish,
which came on a service winner after two hours and 38 minutes.
– Nadal in 33rd Slam semi –
Nadal will face first-time Slam semi-finalist Berrettini in the Spaniard’s
33rd career major semi-final and eighth at the US Open. It’s also Nadal’s
seventh consecutive Grand Slam semi-final.
Nadal, who won his 12th French Open title in June, seeks his 27th Slam
final, four shy of Federer’s record, and second US Open final in three years
after retiring with a knee injury in last year’s semi-finals.
Nadal, who has dropped only one set at Flushing Meadows this fortnight,
chases his fourth title of the year after Rome, the French Open and Montreal.
Berrettini, the first Italian man in the US Open semi-finals since Corrado
Barazzutti in 1977, is trying to follow the footsteps of the only Italian
men’s Slam winner — Adriano Panatta at the 1976 French Open.
At 23, Berrettini is the youngest US Open men’s semi-finalist since Novak
Djokovic in 2010.
BSS/AFP/SSS/0850 hrs