WHAT HAPPENED: The pressure of suddenly being considered one of the top two favorites to win the 2020 US Open title didn’t seem to bother Daniil Medvedev on Monday night as he waltzed past unseeded American Frances Tiafoe, 6-4, 6-1, 6-0, to reach the quarterfinals for the second straight year in New York.
It was a Big Three style beatdown that last year’s US Open runner-up handed to Tiafoe, and a clear statement that he is feeling no pressure—only excitement—about suddenly becoming one of the US Open’s favorites in light of Novak Djokovic’s shocking default on Day 7.
Medvedev was never threatened as he flummoxed Tiafoe in every corner of the court and he raced to his victory in one hour and 38 minutes. The Russian has not dropped a set all week, and has conceded just 29 games through four rounds.
“I was lucky enough to get the early break, relaxed a little bit, and then I was playing some unbelievable tennis tonight,” Medvedev said.
Medvedev broke serve eight times on 11 opportunities and impressively won 20 of 29 second serve points. As the night wore on, Tiafoe’s resistance withered until the American was all but a shell of the player that had dominated Marton Fucsovics in his previous match.
Such is the crippling effect that the unorthodox Russian can have on his opponents, even the elite ones.
“I’m playing better every match, and I hope this can continue,” Medvedev said. “I know there are seven matches to play and it’s tough to improve every match.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Medvedev’s victory sets up an all-Russian clash with Andrey Rublev, who defeated Matteo Berrettini in four sets on Day 8. Earlier in the tournament Medvedev reflected on his junior days with Rublev, which gave insight into just how far they’ve both come as professionals.
“I think we played a match when we were like maybe 12 years old, both of us, or 11, and we were one of the worst juniors in terms of attitude that you could see,” Medvedev said. “We were crying, throwing the racquets over the fence.”
Medvedev owns the 2-0 lifetime edge over Rublev, who seems quite aware of the challenge he will have to overcome if he is to get by Medvedev.
“His style of the game is really, really unusual,” Rublev said earlier this week. “So you cannot rush with him. He forces you to play not your style of the game. He forces you to play a little bit slower. He forces you to wait more, to play longer rallies. Many players, maybe in one moment, after one hour playing this type of game style, they start to stress, they start to give up, they start to rush, they start to go for the shots, try to play shorter rallies, and in the end they miss more than they make.”
MATCH POINT: Medvedev is leading all men’s singles quarterfinalists in service games won and return games won through four rounds. The Russian has won 48 percent of his return games (24/50) and 94 percent of his service games (48/51).
