Djokovic and Nadal giving Medvedev hope forward of US Open conflict with Alcaraz
Alcaraz is the defending champion at Flushing Meadows, whereas the Russian world No. 3 gained the Grand Slam title in 2021. The winner of Friday’s mouth-watering duel will earn the best to face both Novak Djokovic or unseeded American Ben Shelton within the showpiece closing.
Alcaraz arrived at Flushing Meadows as World No 1. and Wimbledon champion however though the 20-year-old will probably be thought of the new favorite, Medvedev insists that his opponent is beatable, similar to the sport’s trendy greats Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are.
Speaking about Alcaraz after his straight-sets quarter-final victory in opposition to Andrey Rublev on Wednesday night, Medvedev stated: “He has every shot. He has extra power compared to other players.
“Maybe 97 per cent of players, it’s tough for them to hit the ball through me. I’m always there. Always running. He can do it just because he has this power. We see it. 100 mph forehand winner and stuff like this.
“Some players, even if we try, we can’t do it. He has every shot in the game. But you can always beat players. People beat Novak. People even beat Rafa on clay, which is almost impossible. It’s the same about Carlos. Every time I’ll play against him, I’ll be trying to win.”
“I said it one time already. I need to serve better than in previous matches. On the line if I need to. I need to put my shots on the line and stuff like this. I need to be there 100 per cent of the time and be better.”
Medvedev needed to endure brutal circumstances to earn his place within the semi-final, with a straights units 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rublev solely telling half the story. Playing on the most popular day of the event, the Russian went a break down in all three units earlier than bouncing again each time.
As each gamers struggled to deal with the stifling circumstances, the No. 3 seed needed to name the physician to the court docket twice earlier than later admitting that at one level he was unable to see the ball correctly.
“Honestly, at the end of the first set I kind of could not see the ball anymore. I kind of played with sensations, just try to go for it, try to run, try to catch the balls and he did the same,” stated Medvedev.
With 5 tour titles to his identify this season, the 27-year-old stays the third favorite to raise the US Open title on Sunday, however along with his solely Gram Slam success thus far approaching the exact same courts two years in the past, Alcaraz can anticipate to not have all the things his personal approach within the semi-final on Friday.