WHAT HAPPENED: No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev managed to stop the flow of former US Open champions out of Arthur Ashe Stadium. No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz was upset on Thursday night, followed by defending champ Novak Djokovic on Friday evening.
Credit goes to 2021 US Open champ Medvedev for bucking that trend—and beating Flavio Cobolli, the No. 31 seed, 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, on Saturday.
“He has, I think, really explosive tennis,” Medvedev said before the match about his Italian opponent, whom he had never before faced.
The former world No. 1 seemed bemused by the fact that for the second round in a row, he was meeting a player for the first time.
“Crazy, he said. “It’s going to be interesting.”
Medvedev was right about that: The match, which started at the relatively reasonable hour of 9:19 pm, was both crazy and interesting. And 22-year-old Cobolli did, indeed, put his explosive brand of tennis on display.
For example, in the match’s third game, the Florentine pulled Medvedev into a 31-shot rally, then earned the contest’s first break-point opportunity. To cries of “forza” from the crowd, he hit a punishing and, yes, explosive forehand to go up 2-1—an advantage he would give back in the very next game.
Early on, a pattern emerged. Cobolli would put Medvedev on defense with a variety of daring, driving groundstrokes. But the more mature Medvedev would weather the storm—and win the point. In the sixth game, the Italian overplayed three shots in a row, lost his serve, and found himself down 4-2.
Of course, newbie enthusiasm has its place in the game: Cobolli is seeded at a Grand Slam event for the first time in his career after having to qualify for the 2024 Australian Open, where he reached the third round. More recently, he made second-round appearances at Wimbledon and Roland Garros. And he’s coming off a sizzling summer, defeating Ben Shelton on his way to the his first ATP final in Washington, D.C., and knocking out Tommy Paul in Cincinnati.
But back in Ashe, at the 32-minute mark, the Italian was staring down the first set point against him. He’d survive it but succumb to an error-free service game from Medvedev, who took the set 6-3.
Cobolli served first in the second set—and faced three break points before winning it. His high-risk, high-reward style of play had him charging the net at every opportunity. It was a treat for the crowd but, at times, a gift to his opponent, too. Still, Medvedev was working hard to track down the Italian’s silky, slicing groundies. The favored player secured an early break to go up 2-1, then consolidated for a 3-1 lead, racking up his fifth ace along the way.
Tennis is a game of contrasts and in this matchup, Medvedev, not necessarily known for his cool-headed composure, came off as the patient elder. That is until he took issue with “bad” tennis balls, and, after a feisty chat with the chair umpire, was given a replacement batch. It seemed to throw off Medvedev and he donated two consecutive double faults, along with a couple of backhand errors. But he pulled himself together and won the game to go up 5-3. Medvedev fell into a 15-30 hole with the set on his racquet, then hit an incredible short volley to seal the set, 6-4.
Did someone tell Cobolli that the lines on the Ashe show court needed to be repainted? The man in the candy-colored kit appeared to want to take on that task—and earned himself the first service break, just like in the first set. But, just as before, Medvedev broke back immediately.
With the score tied at 2-2, the Italian won a thrilling 37-shot rally—and had the crowd on its feet chanting his name. But, story of the match, he lost that game to go down 2-3.
Then, after an entire highlight-reel’s worth of shots, Cobolli broke Medvedev again. But, as before, Medvedev broke back and stepped up to serve at 4-3.
With the end in sight, the mood shifted in the stadium. Cobolli seemed to feel it, too. Serving at 3-5, he survived two match points against him. But Medvedev took the set, 6-3, and the match.
In his post-match interview, Medvedev called it a “fun match to play,” adding, “I was enjoying myself.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Next up for Medvedev is Nuno Borges, world No. 34, who beat Jakub Mensik in their five-set Round 3 contest—which kept the Portuguese player on court for nearly four hours.
When asked about facing Medvedev, Borges said: “He’s a very tricky player…very tactical, very smart. So you’ve got to play really well throughout the whole match to have a chance.”
MATCH POINT: It’s an understatement to say that Medvedev seems to like winning in new places. To wit: each of his 20 tour-level wins has occurred in a different tournament. With Alcaraz and Djokovic gone, can the No. 5 seed stage a repeat of his 2021 result and take the title in New York?
