WHAT HAPPENED: No. 2 Daniil Medvedev moved into the semifinals, although not without surrendering his first loss of a set, by defeating the surprising qualifier Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands, 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5. The Russian is into the semifinals of the US Open for the third straight year.
Medvedev was content to play with van de Zandschulp in the early going, engaging in long rallies and, true to style, not trying to blow his less-experienced foe off the court. But the Russian crushed the qualifier just the same. The mild-mannered Dutchman did manage a break of serve at 2-5 in the first set. But Medvedev quickly extinguished that glimpse of hope and began to steamroll, bageling Botic in the second set.
In the third set, a visibly tired van de Zandschulp suddenly showed signs of life. Behind an excellent serving performance, the Dutchman started to wear away at Medvedev, who appeared to be lulled into committing unforced errors. Van de Zandschulp captured the set against the Russian by winning 91% of his first-serve points.
Van de Zandschulps’s strong effort continued in the fourth set, where he extended Medvedev to 5-all. Despite his tired legs, the stubborn Dutchman showed how he made such a storied run to the quarterfinals—and why he was such a tough out. Medvedev was tested in the end, but the Russian lost just three points on his serve in the final set.
“It’s an amazing run, coming from qualies to make quarters,” said Medvedev of van de Zandschulp.
“He played so many tough matches, and today he was still able to come back.” “In the fourth set, anything could happen. It was an amazing level from him in the third and fourth sets.
“If he continues to play like this,” said Medvedev, “he’s going to be, let’s say, Top 30, Top 50.”
Asked what changed in the third set, Medvedev responded, “Actually, him. In the first two sets he was missing. I was kind of controlling the game. In the third set he started missing less, hit with more power, being more aggressive. It started to be much tougher for me.”
“I’m happy with my game in the fourth set because on my serve I almost lost maybe two points. At 6-5, he got a little bit tight, and I managed to do it without the tiebreaker,” said the Russian.
Medvedev, a finalist in Flushing in 2019 and a semifinalist last year, has made no secret of his goal. “I just want to do a little bit better than the last two times and get this last step, which is the toughest one actually.”
WHAT IT MEANS: The 25-year-old Moscovite has been dominant through five rounds, but Medvedev now—unlike last year—will not enter the semifinals without the loss of a set.
Medvedev, the 2019 US Open finalist, has won 11 of his 12 ATP titles on hard courts, including four ATP Masters 1000 events. But this year in New York, the Russian looks to be emphatic about adding a 12th hardcourt title—and his first major championship. Medvedev saunters into the semifinals to face the winner of 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime and the unseeded Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz.
Van de Zandschulp’s surprising—or perhaps shocking—run finally comes to an end. The No. 117 player, who came into the match with nearly 20 hours on court, had never even been to the United States as a tourist. It’s safe to say that the Dutchman will remember this trip forever, at least before Medvedev sent him packing. In making the quarterfinals, van de Zandschulp got as far as a men's qualifier ever had at the US Open.
MATCH POINT: Curiously, van de Zandschulp came into the quarterfinal match with exactly as many wins in majors this year as Medvedev, 16—provided, of course, that one counts qualifying rounds! Van de Zandschulp had come from behind in six of his seven matches at the US Open, but there would be no coming back against Medvedev.
