Medvedev stole the semi-finals of the US Open from Rublev. Andrew is furious

The quarter-final of a status tournament, in which two Russian tennis players meet in front of the American public, is a wonderful sight in itself. And the understanding that we were guaranteed to get our player in the semi-finals, allowed us to enjoy the fight without unnecessary worries.

However, to the disappointment of many, instead of a stubborn game, the audience saw a confident victory for Dani in three sets. Although Andrei had to take at least the first game.

Rublev freaked out and was again left without a semi-final at the Major in 2020.

Another entry to the semi-final

It is no coincidence that Andrei Rublev is called one of the main losers of the world tour, although this sounds ambiguous in relation to a tennis player from the top 10 world rankings. However, he never reached the semi-finals of the Majors, each time stumbling over stronger opponents, then over his own psychological swing.

In 2020, on the way to the cherished goal, Rublev faced the 2019 finalist Medvedev, with whom by that time the slightly younger Andrey had disastrous head-to-head statistics: Danya won three previous matches without losing a set to his opponent.

Daniil Medvedev and Andrei Rublev / Photo: © Al Bello / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Both players approached the quarter-finals in a good mood. Rublev outplayed the strong Berrettini in the fourth round, giving him only the first set. Medvedev, on the other hand, didn’t have a single nervous match at all in the grid – he won all four fights with a shutout (3-0).

Enough for one set

The opening game gave the audience an epic tie-break, in which Rublev took the lead with a score of 5:1. It seemed that the long-awaited victory of Rublev in at least one set over his childhood friend would finally happen. Apparently, Rublev himself believed this and was preparing to start the second game in a positive mood.

At this most important moment, Medvedev stepped in and “saved” the game, pulling out three set-balls. Rublev was discouraged by such a denouement. From emotions, he began to literally beat his bag with equipment with a racket. Oh, if this nervous impulse helped Andrey not to lose heart.

Andrey Rublev / Photo: © Al Bello / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

But Medvedev played the second game so confidently that it seemed as if he was playing it with another opponent. Rublev seemed to have been replaced: he lost aggression in his attacking actions and, on the whole, looked depressed.

Medvedev’s tricks

Of course, this course of the match weakened Danya, so in the third installment he allowed himself to loosen his grip. It cannot be said that Rublev returned to the game, rather, it was the opponent that allowed Andrey to hope for a comeback. But he did not seem to believe in this possibility himself. Moreover, Medvedev used his favorite strategy, with which he so often broke much more difficult matches.

With Rublev leading 5-4, Danya took a medical time-out, citing shoulder pain. It took about three minutes to manipulate, Medvedev gathered his thoughts and took the game to zero. Then the opponents once again exchanged confident victories on their serves and came to the second tie-break in the match.

Danya, despite the tremor and muscle cramps, did not follow the path of the first game. With the score 5:5, Medvedev first took a point on his serve, and then converted the first match-ball. He accompanied this success with a triumphant cry, which, in general, is rarely seen in such cases from Dani.

Daniil Medvedev / Photo: © Al Bello / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

In an interview after the game, Medvedev praised his opponent in a gentlemanly manner and admitted that there was a lot of luck in this victory. It’s hard to disagree with this – Rublev had an ideal opportunity, at least, to lead in this quarter-final in sets. But Andrei is not yet ready to cope with such a heavy psychological burden.

Unfortunately, this problem remains with Rublev three years later. At the US Open-2023, he will try to reach the semi-finals of the Grand Slam tournament for the ninth time. And again, Medvedev may stand in his way.