The US Open quarterfinalists have been friends since they were kids, and both Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev have a few moments in their friendship they might redo if given the chance.
“Both of us were crazy on court. Destroying the racquets, complaining,” Rublev remembers.
As kids, they saw in each other the qualities that have carried them to the second week of the 2020 US Open.
In Rublev, Medvedev saw an emerging work ethic that has helped his friend reach No. 14 and make his second US Open quarterfinal.
“Starting from juniors, we always tried to get better, we always pushed each other. We were always happy when we win and disappointed when we lose,” Medvedev said.
In Medvedev, Rublev noticed a player who would do anything to win, a trait that helped Medvedev reach a new career-high of No. 4 last year and nearly upset Spain’s Rafael Nadal in the 2019 US Open final.
“He was always one of the biggest fighter that I ever saw in my life since he was, I don't know, seven years old. He could play lobs maybe [for] hours just to win… I remember we had few battles when we were completely kids,” Rublev said.
Medvedev recalls that particular “lob” anecdote with a chuckle.
“I didn't have a lot of arms, weapons, to win when we were really young, like 9, 10 years. I didn't have any weapons to win the match sometimes. I was always on practice trying to play aggressive, maybe going to the net and stuff like this,” Medvedev said.
Then the match came along, and he stuck to his plan. He was playing aggressively and going to the net, that is, until he fell behind in the first-to-four games set, 3-0.
“I'm like, ‘No, back to lobs.’ Yeah, because I always hated to lose. Maybe even the better mentality for a kid would be to try to stick to his game plan or something like this. At the same time, it's always good when you want to win,” Medvedev said.
It seems the 24-year-old has struck the right balance in Flushing Meadows: stick to the game plan that wins. The 6-foot-6 right-hander has won all 12 sets he’s played this fortnight, and his average set score is 6-2.
Rublev has similarly produced some of his best tennis. The 22-year-old didn’t drop a set during his first three matches. In the fourth round, he lost the first set against 2019 US Open semifinalist Matteo Berrettini, but won three consecutively to reach his second major quarterfinal.
In 2017, Rublev became the youngest US Open quarterfinalist since American Andy Roddick in 2001.
“I'm a better player [now], that I have a better mentality, that physically for sure I'm better, game-wise, as well. Yeah, for sure, I improve a lot in last three years. I'm really happy that I reach my second quarterfinal here at the US Open,” Rublev said.
The two may have plenty of shared memories and common backgrounds, but the similarities don’t extend to their on-court games, Medvedev said.
“We are playing different tennis. I play a little bit more counterattack with trying to make my opponent in trouble, maybe seeing what my opponent does, then deciding how I'm going to play.
“Andrey is different. He tries to dictate his game with the forehand, go for the shots. He doesn't really care what the opponent does, he just cares about himself. So it's a different strategy.”
The third-seeded Medvedev has won both of their tour-level matches. They’d prefer that their third meeting be taking place in the US Open final rather than the quarterfinals, but neither is complaining about a chance to reach the US Open semifinals.
“Really happy that we manage to play in the quarterfinal of a Slam. We couldn't play any later, so that's the latest stage we could play at. I'm really happy about it,” Medvedev said.
