Daniil Medvedev is the only US Open winner still left in the men’s draw in 2024.
There have been some huge exits in the early rounds with both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic crashing out – that’s 28 total combined Grand Slam wins between them.
Medvedev loves playing in New York and he is bidding to reach the semi-final for a fifth time, however standing in his way is world number one Jannik Sinner.
The two are set for a monumental showdown on Arthur Ashe on Wednesday for a place in the final four – with the winner likely to be tournament favourite.
Medvedev has experience on his side having claimed the title back in 2021.
He beat Djokovic three years ago to claim his first ever Grand Slam title, stopping the Serbian from completing the calendar Slam.
It was a shock straight sets victory for the Russian in that US Open final and he celebrated in quite a bizarre style.
After winning at Flushing Meadow, he performed a FIFA celebration and explained all after.
“Only legends will understand. What I did after the match was L2 + left,” Medvedev said in his on-court speech.
Elaborating further in a later interview, he said: “I can explain it. When I was running through Wimbledon, because that’s not the surface — I like grass, but I don’t feel as fluid as on hard courts. I was really confident about my game.
“I think it was like one night, you know, you cannot fall asleep. Five, ten minutes you have crazy thoughts, like every other person.
“I was like, Okay, if I’m going to win Wimbledon, imagine I win it against Novak or whatever.
😝 @DaniilMedwed pic.twitter.com/VlqihQ7hSY
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2021
To not celebrate is going to be too boring, because I do it all the time. I need to do something, but I want to make it special.
“I like to play FIFA. I like to play PlayStation. It’s called the dead fish celebration. If you know your opponent when you play FIFA, many times you’re going to do this. You’re going to score a goal, you’re up 5-0, you do this one.”
Now Medvedev is just three wins away from claiming his second ever Grand Slam title and his clash with Sinner is a repeat of this year’s Australian Open final.
The Italian claimed victory in a tough five set battle and their match at the US Open will likely be as gruelling.
“I feel like in a way we know our game and what we will try to bring on the table,” Medvedev said when asked about facing Sinner.
“Then it comes to always these moments like a deuce and break points, maybe [I’ll] try to surprise.
“Hopefully we can have a great match, I know that if I want to beat him I will need to be at my best, which I have managed to do a couple of times. It’s going to be a great match.”
Medvedev was in good spirits after he demolished Nuno Borges to reach the quarter-finals and has yet to drop a set.
“I try to work hard. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t,” Medvedev told his ATP Tour rival Nick Kyrgios in his on-court interview.
“There are days when it is tougher to go out on court and practise, but I have the mentality that if the other guy practises more than me, I have less chances to win, and I want to win all the time. So I try to practise as much as I can.
“I’ve had a lot of success here at the US Open and last time I lost in the fourth round was against you. Good memories.”
The winner of Jack Draper vs Alex De Minaur will await the winner of Medvedev vs Sinner.
