US Open: Medvedev recovers to race past De Minaur and breeze into the quarter-finals

Daniil Medvedev is back into the quarter-finals of the US Open, beating Alex De Minaur 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in a lop-sided encounter that saw the Russian drop the first set before storming back to earn a comfortable win.

De Minaur displayed the sort of form he has been showing all tournament in the first set, using his athleticism and lightning-quick speed to unsettle Medvedev as the Australian went an early break up.

He kept his foot on the accelerator to gain another break and take the opener 6-2.

The second was a tight and tense affair, with Medvedev just edging it by breaking De Minaur in the final game when the Australian was serving at 5-4 down.

It proved to be a pivotal moment in the match, as De Minaur failed to recover his momentum.

An intriguing encounter early on rapidly descends into an anti-climax

Medvedev broke twice in the each of the final two sets without reply to breeze comfortably in the last eight at the US Open for the first time since he won the title two years ago.

For De Minaur, it was a desperately disappointing drop-off in form with the match still very much in the balance at one set apiece. He’d served brilliantly for the opening two sets before that break at the end of the second proved to be the catalyst for a loss of confidence in the Australian’s service game.

Having taken the first, De Minaur had a golden chance to take the initiative and reach just a second ever career Grand Slam quarter-final – the first coming at Flushing Meadows in the 2020 crowd-less edition of the tournament.

But he chose to be more conservative in the second, waiting for his opponent’s mistakes and not taking enough chances to finish rallies early.

Against someone of Medvedev’s defensive abilities, this was always going to be a risky strategy and ultimately proved so as a single break in the second set was enough to completely turn the match on its head.

For Medvedev, it was a very quick turnaround after a match that initially looked like it could last long into the New York evening.

“It was very tough,” Medvedev said. “The conditions were probably the most brutal we have ever played. At one moment, I thought I was not going to be able to play till the end.

“And then I looked at him, and he is one of the best guys around physically, and he was not moving as well either, so I thought I would fight to the end.

“During the match, I was feeling better and better, so hopefully it is the same on Wednesday.”

Medvedev will face his good friend and fellow Russian Andrey Rublev in the last eight, as he continues his campaign for a second Grand Slam and US Open title.

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New York (Grand Slam), other last 16 results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 44.700.000, most recent results first):

• Alexander Zverev vs. Jannik Sinner: tuesday
• Andrey Rublev beat Jack Draper: 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
• Carlos Alcaraz (1) beat Matteo Arnaldi: 6-3, 6-3, 6-4
• Novak Djokovic (2) beat Borna Gojo (Q): 6-2, 7-5, 6-4
• Taylor Fritz (9) beat Dominic Stricker (Q): 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-4
• Frances Tiafoe (10) beat Rinky Hijikata (WC): 6-4, 6-1, 6-4
• Ben Shelton beat Tommy Paul (14): 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4