WHAT HAPPENED: Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion and last year’s finalist, moved an assured step closer to returning to his former heights in Flushing on Monday afternoon. The 6-foot-6 fifth seed used his backcourt mastery and monster serve to topple his Portuguese challenger, the 34th-ranked Nuno Borges, 6-0, 6-1, 6-3.
Medvedev, 28, the only former US Open champ remaining in the draw, returns to the quarterfinals here for the fifth time. He will meet the winner of No. 1 Jannik Sinner and 14th seed Tommy Paul.
In bright sunshine on Labor Day, there was little need for Medvedev to be brilliant. He won the first seven points, and rolled through the first six games, as Borges began very nervously in his first time in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 27-year-old Portuguese quickly learned that there was a world of difference between facing a teenager in Stadium 17 in his previous match and this encounter with a former No. 1 on the globe’s biggest tennis stage.
Borges, who won his third round with a 6-0 fifth set, got bageled by Medvedev in the very next set he played, the opening one of this match, in just 23 minutes. That’s the kind of turnaround that can cause whiplash.
In the second set, Borges finally got on the board but immediately surrendered his serve and with it any hope for a change of momentum. The Portuguese began to berate himself on a day in which Medvedev was clearly superior and more experienced at this stage of a slam.
Medvedev dominated the second set, too, and raced into the quarterfinals, barely breaking a sweat on one of the most delightful, sunny days of the fortnight. Deep in the second set, Medvedev almost looked to be showing off when he pulled off an acrobatic leaping backhand overhead with his back to the net, somehow flicking the ball straight down at an extreme angle crosscourt for a winner.
When Borges held serve to even the score at 1-1 in the final set, he shook his fists to the sky as though he still expected to win–or perhaps he was imploring the gods for some divine intervention. The crowd roared its encouragement, and Borges used the sudden burst of adrenaline to break serve in the next game.
But Medvedev quickly extinguished any notion of a change in Borges’s fortunes, breaking right back. Borges had begun to play better, and the third set was more closely contested, but the Portuguese player was unable to make any serious inroads.
“When you are up two sets to love, that’s what always happens, the crowd is for your opponent. Maybe that’s what I should do, lose the first to get the crowd on my side,” Medvedev joked with ESPN’s Nick Kyrgios on court after his stress-free, sub-two-hour win.
He may have “only” struck 21 winners on the afternoon, but Medvedev served a warning to his future opponents: Don’t mess with Medvedev.
"Maybe that’s what I should do, lose the first to get the crowd on my side."
WHAT IT MEANS: The two players met twice previously in 2024: at this year’s first major, the Australian Open, where Medvedev won in four sets, also in the Round of 16; and on grass, at Halle, where Medvedev won in two tight sets. Monday’s matchup wasn’t nearly as close as either of those.
Medvedev, who for a player of his record and consistency has had a spotty year (most concerningly, he lost in the first round at both ATP 1000 hardcourt warmup events in Toronto and Cincinnati), seems to be peaking at just the right time on his favorite surface and at his favorite major.
He now boasts a 33-6 record at US Open (.85). Medvedev leads all players on ATP Tour since 2018 in hard-court finals (32) and wins (268), and he owns the second-most titles (18) in that period, just behind Novak Djokovic with 20.
Borges, 27, is only the second Portuguese player to reach the fourth round at the US Open. He has had an excellent year, reaching a career-high ranking of 34, advancing to the fourth round at two majors, and winning his first ATP title at Bastad, where Borges beat Rafael on clay in the final, a true rarity. Yet he is now 0-9 vs. Top 10 players in his career (0-5 in 2024).
Nevertheless, Borges will enter the Top 30 for the first time after the US Open concludes.
MATCH POINT: Medvedev has earned his 20 career titles at 20 different tournaments (18 of those on hard courts and including six ATP 1000 events). Were he to win the US Open this year, it would be first career repeat title.
