4:03 pm | September 6, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
NEW YORK — Daniil Medvedev first made a name for himself at the US Open by earning the wrath of spectators. Now he’s gaining everyone’s respect as he heads to his first Grand Slam final.
The No. 5-seed Russian has gone from trolling angry crowds at Flushing Meadows to playing for the title after beating unseeded Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals Friday under Arthur Ashe Stadium’s closed retractable roof.
Medvedev’s tennis was a bit scratchy, and he barely avoided dropping the opening set, but he did just enough with his mostly defensive style to get past Dimitrov, who had eliminated Roger Federer in a five-set quarterfinal.
In Sunday’s final, Medvedev will face either 18-time major champion Rafael Nadal or Matteo Berrettini, a 23-year-old from Italy who is seeded 24th.
Nadal has been gaining on Federer in the Grand Slam title standings: A fourth championship at the US Open will also move him within one of Federer’s record total in the overall standings.
Like Medvedev, Berrettini is trying to make his debut in a major final.
The 6-foot-6 Medvedev hadn’t even been past the fourth round at a Slam until this one. He’s been the tour’s top player over the recent hard-court circuit, though, reaching three other finals on the surface.
He drew all sorts of attention during Week 1 at the US Open by antagonizing fans. In his third-round victory, they got on him for snatching a towel from a ballperson, then for holding up his middle finger against the side of his face. When they let him hear it at the end of the match, jeering loudly, he basked in it, asking for more noise and sarcastically thanking them. There was a similar display after his next victory, too.
On Friday, the stands seemed to have more people pulling for Dimitrov than Medvedev, but once again, that didn’t matter.
At No. 78, Dimitrov was heading in the opposite direction, losing seven of his previous eight matches before getting to New York. That’s why a player once ranked as high as No. 3 was down to No. 78, making him the lowest semifinalist at the US Open since 1991, when Jimmy Connors — who was in the stands Friday — was out of the top 150.
Dimitrov sure should have gone up a set early.
He was a point away while leading 6-5 as Medvedev served. But Medvedev played aggressively there, using a big forehand to get to the net and take that point, then turned to his guest box and barked something. The ensuing tiebreaker was filled with errors by both, closing with a forehand into the net by Dimitrov and another that he sailed long.
Truth be told, neither was all that elegant or excellent in that first set.
Yet Medvedev managed to take it, even though Dimitrov dominated pretty much every statistical category. Dimitrov won more points, 43-41. He accumulated twice as many total winners, 14-7. He made fewer unforced errors, 18-15.
Powered by WPeMatico