Daniil Medvedev celebrates after his match against Flavio Cobolli. | Photo Credit: REUTERS
The Russian, who is the only former New York champion left in the men’s draw following the stunning exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the first week, was pleased to avoid the US Open trapdoor.
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev breezed past Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 and into the fourth round on a muggy Saturday night at the US Open 2024 as the 2021 champion stepped up his bid to capture a second Grand Slam title.
The Russian, who is the only former New York champion left in the men’s draw following the stunning exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the first week, was pleased to avoid the U.S. Open trapdoor.
“I said before the match that for me the upsets don’t really matter. The only thing (is when) the conditions are a bit tricky the favourites may have less margin than the other guys. Just have to be more cautious,” said Medvedev.
“If I play good tennis I can win the whole thing. If I don’t play good I can lose against anyone,” he said.
Medvedev told reporters later that he did not expect to be in the position he was in heading to the fourth round.
“It’s a fun feeling from one side but from the other side, it’s a new tournament. I need to play my best to try to win it again,” Medvedev added.
In a clash marked by long, exhausting rallies, Cobolli tested Medvedev’s defence thoroughly but could not find a way past the man nicknamed the “Octopus” for his ability to move freely on court and reach every ball.
Having taken the opening set on the back of two breaks after dropping serve early, Australian Open runner-up Medvedev edged a close second set to tighten his grip on the contest.
Both players struggled on serve in the third set and handed out breaks freely but Medvedev composed himself to close out the victory and book a clash with Portuguese Nuno Borges.
“It was a tough match. It was a little bit up and down. And at one moment I started playing much better on my serve than on his. It was tricky. Very humid, very hot out there. I think it makes the conditions a bit slower because I was watching other matches before mine… it was a fun match to play,” Medvedev said.
Alex de Minaur leads Australian charge into Round of 16
Alex de Minaur leads a strong Australian charge into the U.S. Open round of 16 after he overcame worrisome injury issues early in the tournament to beat Briton Dan Evans 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-0, 6-0 in the third round on Saturday.
The 10th seed is the first Australian man in two decades to reach the fourth round at all four Grand Slams in one year after he got into the fourth round at the Australian Open and the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.
De Minaur had looked in doubt for his second-round match in New York amid ongoing struggles with a hip injury, after he pulled out of his Wimbledon quarter-final against Novak Djokovic in July with a cartilage tear.
“There were stages there where I was sliding from the back of the court and even coming to the net and sliding into volleys and moving quite fluidly, which is something that I definitely haven’t done as of yet in this tournament,” he said.
He is joined in the second week by compatriots Alexei Popyrin, who executed a stunning upset of defending champion Djokovic on Friday, and Jordan Thompson, whom he will play next.
