Daniil Medvedev demolished Carlos Alcaraz’s aspirations of reaching another final against Novak Djokovic at the US Open, where he had not lost a game in the previous two years.
Alcaraz’s 12-match winning streak in New York came to an end as he was defeated by the Russian, 6(3)-7 1-6 6-3 3-6.
Alcaraz said in the post-match conference: “After 3-3 in the first tie-break I lose my mind. Played three or four bad points. Didn’t think at all about what I was doing. It was tough for me. In the second set, I was almost in the moon and he was playing great.”
He further appreciated Medvedev’s gameplay and said: “I’m sure we’re going to play more matches in final rounds of big tournaments, so it’s going to be a good rivalry. Every match that we’ve played, I think we’ve shown great points, great battles. He played with more speed on his shots. I think the running forehand was great today. Probably, the slice in the previous matches helped me a lot to find my own game, but today I couldn’t. He found great direction with his shots, no mistakes, and great serve. I have to learn about it and find solutions.”
Alcaraz talked about his improvement after the loss and the lesson he needs to learn from it. He said: “I don’t think I’m gonna think about this loss for a long time. Of course, I wanna learn about that and be better. Matches like this help you to be better. I will need to talk to my team and understand how I can improve.”
Carlos Alcaraz in 2023
At the moment ranked no.1, the Spaniard played his last match on the 8th of September when he surrendered to world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the semifinal of the U.S. Open (draw).
During this season Carlos owns a compiled 58-7 win-loss record. The Spaniard clinched 6 titles in 2023 in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, London and Wimbledon. The Spaniard was the finalist in Rio de Janeiro and Cincinnati.
Medvedev at the U.S. Open, ranking, and results in 2023
Now ranked no.3, Medvedev has managed to achieve an overall 55-11 record in 2023. The Russian is currently competing at the U.S. Open where he managed to beat the world no.747 Attila Balazs 6-1 6-1 6-0, the world no.69 Christopher O Connell 6-2 6-2 6-76 6-2, the world no.32 Sebastian Baez 6-2 6-2 7-66, the world no.13 Alex De Minaur 2-6 6-4 6-1 6-2, the world no.8 Andrey Rublev 6-4 6-3 6-4 and the world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz 7-63 6-1 3-6 6-3.
Daniil Medvedev will play the world no.2 Novak Djokovic in the final on Saturday at 4:00 pm on ARTHUR ASHE STADIUM. Their current head to head is 9-5 for Djokovic.
The Russian has won 5 titles in 2023 in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai, Miami and Rome. Medvedev was the runner-up in Indian Wells (BNP Paribas Open).
The Russian won 20 titles in his career: 10 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts, 8 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev fought against each other 4 times. Their actual head to head record is 2-2. The last time they locked horns, Daniil Medvedev won 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 in the semifinal in New York (U.S. Open) on the 8th of September 2023.
You can watch the highlights in the following video.
Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev |
Embed from Getty Images |