U.S. Open: Jannik Sinner beats Daniil Medvedev in topsy-turvy quarterfinal

NEW YORK — Jannik Sinner took out his biggest challenger for the U.S. Open title by beating Daniil Medvedev, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, on Wednesday night.

This was only a quarterfinal, but the world No. 1 and world No. 5 were the only two major champions left in the draw. Not one of the other three semifinalists has been to a major final; none of them are ranked inside the world’s top 10. 

With Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz gone, Sinner has seized his chance to get closer to winning a second Grand Slam title on Sunday, in the absence of his two biggest rivals. In his first match of the tournament, he came out flat and trailed by a set and a break to world No. 140 Mackenzie McDonald, still looking distracted by the anti-doping ruling against him that had been announced the week before the tournament.

Since then it’s been all business for the world No. 1, who overcame a second-set wobble to beat Medvedev in an undulating match.

Going into the match, the head to head between the two players had followed a strange pattern.  Medevdev, a finalist here last year and the 2021 champion, won the first six meetings. Sinner then won the next five, before Medvedev reestablished himself with a victory at Wimbledon in July. That match went to five sets, as did their Australian Open final in January, so everyone on Arthur Ashe Stadium was settling in for a long match. These two have an intimate knowledge of the other’s game.

 In that Wimbledon meeting, an unwell Sinner had allowed himself to be dragged around the court by Medvedev in a manner reminiscent of some of those early clashes. He was determined to avoid the same thing happening on Wednesday, and came out playing with a lot of purpose, almost breaking in the very first game. Medvedev likes to tangle players up in his web of mixed speeds and spin, but Sinner is so quick and has such firepower that he could end rallies before his opponent could bend them to his will.

At the same time, Medvedev knew he would have to try and get on the front foot, like he did in Australia when he won the first two sets. Playing aggressive comes with risk, and the Russian got caught out by making errors when trying to go too close to the lines. Sinner broke for 2-1, and he made Medvedev uncomfortable in most of his service games in the first set. After fending off a couple of break points on his own serve, Sinner broke again and then served it out.

In between times, the pair produced some scintillating tennis. Medvedev won a 24-shot rally in the fifth game, only to be outdone on the next point by Sinner’s ridiculous speed and defensive skills. Both men were forcing the other to hit even harder, and there were gasps from the crowd when Medvedev sprinted after a drop shot and in his next stroke whipped away a backhand winner. 

Sinner had a break point in the first game of the second set, but he was unable to take it. Medvedev pinched the break himself in the next game instead, and after edging two more tight games suddenly found himself 4-0 up.

Medvedev had earned the turnaround by playing tighter to the baseline, getting the crowd on his side with some courageous drive volleys. When Sinner tried to exploit Medvedev’s deep returning position with a serve-and-volley play and then a drop shot, the Russian adjusted and stepped forward to close off those angles.

Despite having had game or break points in four out of five games, Sinner found himself 5-0 down. A couple of games later it was one-set all, the first two sets having whizzed by in 75 minutes. It was a match being played at a breathless pace, and the question was who would start to flag.

 Medvedev was the one to flag in Melbourne after a gruelling run to the final, but he had no such miles in the legs this time. Sinner hadn’t been tested much in the tournament so far either, but he has been struggling with a hip injury since April. Medvedev was moving him from side to side as much as possible, and would have been aware that Sinner’s five-set record is a blot on his game, with six wins and nine losses.

Sinner would have known that too, and at the start of the third set, he looked to shorten the points. He came to the net five times in the first few games, winning every point, and broke straight away for a 3-0 lead. Medvedev was suddenly under siege, and his focus broke, Sinner rattling through the set for the loss of just one game. Medvedev, at that point in the match, had faced break points in nine of his 11 service games. 

After three one-sided sets, a tight contest broke out in the fourth, as Medvedev raised his level again. In the second game, Medvedev smacked a forehand that Sinner met with a backhand half-volley from close to the baseline into the open court, underlining the stunning level of these two players when at their best. Medvedev even had break points at 3-2, but he couldn’t convert. Sinner broke in the next game instead, and that was ultimately that.

Given what was at stake, this has to rank as Sinner’s best, or certainly most significant, performance since beating the same opponent in the Australian Open final eight months ago. It wasn’t a perfect display, but the way Sinner went after the victory in the closing stages, rather than waiting for Medvedev to make mistakes, showed why he is the world No. 1. So too did his accomplished volleying, helping him to an impressive tally of 28 points won from 35 (85 per cent) at the net.

After the match, Sinner played down the significance of his status as tournament favourite, but accepted that he was lucky to have the experience of playing in these big matches already.

For Medvedev, this will be another tough defeat to stomach, for a player who keeps running into one of the three players better than him at the sharp end of the Grand Slams. It’s the fifth time in sixth majors that he has been beaten by one of Sinner, Alcaraz or Djokovic. 

After the match he spoke of his disappointment at his performance, saying he had been “super tight” towards the end.

“When I was missing I didn’t feel why I was missing, so I couldn’t correct it,” he said.

On the previous four of those times, the man who beat Medvedev ended up winning the title. Sinner will be taking nothing for granted in a tournament that’s been defined by upsets, but he’ll be a big favourite against his good friend and recent doubles partner Jack Draper on Friday, and again in Sunday’s final if he gets there. 

With no Djokovic and no Alcaraz, it’s a golden opportunity for the Italian to earn his second Grand Slam title.

(Top photo: Kena Betancur / AFP via Getty Images)