Quarter-finals of Medvedev

When Daniel Medvedev became the fifth racket of the world on the eve of the US Open, both fans and specialists began to expect him to at least reach the quarter-finals, which would be his best result in Grand Slam tournaments. The forecast for the Russian tennis player came true - in New York, he was among the eight best tennis players who will continue to fight for the title.

In the fourth round match, Medvedev got the rival with the lowest rating among those who reached this stage. The 118th racket of the world Dominic Köpfer got into the main draw through qualification and has already achieved a lot, beating Nikoloz Basilashvili in the 1/16 finals.

The German tried to give battle and Medvedev. The audience behaved in silence, apart from some rare whistles - they learned a lesson that any Russian energy, even negative, helps them from the Russian, whom they were so unhappy with during the last meeting. Their tactics initially worked. The tennis player was unusually mistaken on his signature long-range shots and each time missed the corners. In addition, Köpfer himself played very well. He won the first set and led 2-0 in the second.

But just at that moment, a turning point occurred in the match. Now the tennis player who wasn’t grabbing the stars from the sky began to make mistakes too often, not even coping with Medvedev’s second serve. The Russian won six of the next seven games. In the third set, he still hesitantly filed the first time, but the company’s 200-km second innings regained his self-confidence. He won this game with a score of 6: 2.

In the next set, Medvedev still continued to play the game confidently, although several consecutive errors again affected him and forced him to transfer the game to a tie-break. By that time, the Russian again pulled himself together and gave the opponent only two points. The coveted ticket to the quarter finals went to him.

“I was completely focused. I think it was an amazing match. Of course, it’s difficult to judge when you play, and do not watch the competition on TV, but I sincerely believe that for me and for him this match is in the top ten, ”Medvedev said after the match.

Now he will not only fight for the US Open semi-finals, but also for fourth place in the ATP ranking. She became vacant after the early departure of the Austrian Dominic Tim. Medvedev had to win one match in order to rise even higher in the interim ranking.

Djokovic injury

Medvedev can just be considered a favorite in his next fight. Many prophesied to him rivals Novak Djokovic. Although the Russian beat him twice this season, the Serb remains the first racket of the world to beat anyone. True, only with excellent health. It was his Serb that was not enough in the match with the Swiss Stan Wavrinka.

In repetition of the final of the US Open - 2016, Wawrinka made a bet on the pitch, and did not lose. Djokovic had a hard time at the reception, so the Swiss won 84% of the points on the first ball into the game. Serb three times tried to make a break in the initial set, but each time rolled back on points and eventually lost with a score of 4: 6.

In the second game, Djokovic recovered and won 12 of 15 draws, after which he led with a score of 4: 1. But at that moment everything began to fall from the hands of the first racket of the world. With two consecutive double mistakes, his defeat in this set began. Wawrinka caught on to his chance and created a fracture with a quality game. The Swiss especially distinguished himself in the draw of 20 shots, which helped him make a break.

From that moment, Djokovic could no longer fight due to a shoulder injury. Barely giving his serve in the third set, the current winner of US Open withdrew from the match. He is waiting for a big loss of points, because of which in the near future his rivals will have a theoretical chance to move the Serb from the first line of the ATP rating.

Wawrinka can be proud of the work done, because last season due to knee surgery he was outside the second hundred of the rating, and this year he reached the quarter-finals of Grand Slam tournaments for the second time. The Swiss met only once with Medvedev and lost to him at the start of Wimbledon in 2017.

Federer's Expendables

Switzerland will have double representation in the US Open quarterfinal. The match of Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov will take place in the upper half of the tournament bracket. The ex-first racket of the world managed to reach the quarterfinals of the American major for the 13th time and equal Andre Agassi in this respect.

For this Federer did not spend much effort and time. He walked in a whirlwind through the Belgian David Hoffen, who was seeded at number 15. In the last match, the Swiss already won the fastest victory at the current US Open, defeating Dan Evans in 1 hour 20 minutes, and with the Belgian he spent one more minute on the court. The final score was 6: 2, 6: 2, 6: 0 in favor of the 20-time winner of the Grand Slam tournaments.

Dimitrov also won a three-set victory in the fourth round, but spent a little more time. He made one break in each game against the Australian Alex de Minor and for the first time in his career ended up in the quarter finals of the US Open. The Bulgarian tennis player struggled with injuries all season and finally achieved the first significant success. In part, 43 unforced errors of a 20-year-old Australian who was already remembered for his victory over Kei Nishikori helped him.

Departure Barty

The main sensation of the day was the departure of the second racket of the world Ashley Barty. She lost to the Chinese woman Wang Qiang, seeded at the tournament under the 18th number. The Australian from the very beginning did not demonstrate her usual tennis with a powerful serve, considered one of the best in the WTA tour. The winner of “Roland Garros” just could not concentrate on the earned break points and as a result missed the opportunity to turn the tide of the match nine times.

As a result, Wang Qiang, whose coach Peter McNamara died of cancer in July, achieved victory and reached the quarterfinals of the major for the first time in his career. The score in the match, in which Barty made 43 unforced errors, was 6: 2, 6: 4, although the Chinese woman had never before won a single game against the Australian. The good news for Barty should be that she still retains a chance to lead the WTA rating. To do this, she must wait for the defeat of Naomi Osaka at any stage of the tournament.

Wang Qiang will try to continue his ascent in the quarterfinal match with Serena Williams. The most titled tennis player of our time, in turn, dealt with Petra Martic. The Croatian could not show anything in this match, except for a break in the first game, which the American quickly played.

Williams had to deal with only 11 actively won rivals, while she herself 38 times pleased the fans with a beautiful game. The ex-first racket of the world still had to worry when her ankle began to bother her, but after a medical timeout she calmly returned to the court and brought the match to victory.

Plishkova's loss

Another top seeded player for whom the US Open ended is Karolina Plishkova. The third racket of the world met with British Johanna Conta and was defeated in the match, which lasted more than two hours.

British tennis players did not reach the quarter-finals of the New York Major 36 years since Joe Dury reached this stage. For Comta, this particular Grand Slam tournament remained the most problematic - in all the rest it reached the semifinals. Plishkova did not fly out before the quarter-finals at the three previous US Open tournaments, but this time her way through the tournament bracket turned out to be too difficult.

The meeting of the two tennis players turned out to be extremely persistent - both girls tried to take someone else's serve, but did not succeed. Especially offensive should have been Conte, who earned nine attempts. At the tie-break, she never paid for it, and she took only one point. Not the best way for the British was the second set, in which Plishkova immediately made two breaks and led with a score of 3: 1. However, at that moment, Comte's insight descended, and she won five games in a row. In the decisive set, none of the hosts for a long time could even make the score even until Comte made a break in the 11th game. Plishkova still continued to resist, but lost four points in a row, letting the British tennis player into the quarterfinals.

Conta's rival will be Elina Svitolina, who was also unlucky at the US Open for a long time, until she met Madison Keys in the fourth round match. The fifth racket of the world beat the ninth with a score of 7: 5, 6: 4, taking revenge for the defeat at the same stage two years ago. The key to the victory of the Ukrainian tennis player was 92% won by the first serve of points, while Keyes made 39 unforced errors. Svitolina became the first representative of her country, which entered the top eight in all Grand Slam tournaments. Then a rival awaits her, who has lost to her four times in her career.