2020 in Review: Daniil Medvedev beats Andrey Rublev to set Dominic Thiem clash

In the first all-Russian Major quarter-final, the last year's US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev took down Andrey Rublev 7-6, 6-3, 7-6 in two hours and 27 minutes. Medvedev advanced to his second Major semi-final in New York, winning all five matches in straight sets and remaining on the first Major title course. It was a tight battle between two good friends who have played each other since junior days, with Medvedev prevailing in the decisive moments to seal the deal in straight sets and book the place in the last four where he played against Dominic Thiem. They both had more winners than unforced errors, and it was Medvedev who had the upper hand, firing 51 direct points with 37 errors and leaving Rublev on a more reduced 23-17 ratio. With 16 aces under his belt, the older Russian dominated with his first serve, playing better on the second and never experiencing danger behind the initial shot.

On the other hand, he stole Andrey's serve once in the second set, converting the lone break opportunity and claiming both tie breaks to move over the top and escape more drama. Finding the rhythm on serve right from the start, both players served well in the opener to reach the tie break. Andrey held in the first game after an extended rally with more than 30 strokes before Medvedev got his name on the scoreboard with a service winner in game two. Unreturned serves secured games three and four for both players, with more powerful hitting behind the initial shot to stay locked at 3-3. Medvedev held in game ten for 5-5 and came back from 0-40 in the 11th for the first deuce on the return. The Stadium's power went down, and we missed a couple of points, as Andrey held to move 6-5 up. Dominating with both serve and forehand, Medvedev brought the 12th game home at 15 to set up a tie break where Andrey opened a 6-3 lead after a lucky net cord winner.

In the encounter's decisive moments, the younger Russian wasted all three set points, dropped two straight points on serve and allowed Daniil to seal the set with an ace, rattling off five consecutive points to steal it after 62 minutes. Carried by this momentum, Medvedev barely lost a point behind the initial shot in set number two, mounting the pressure on the other side of the net and securing the only break with a smash winner in game six. Serving for the set, Daniil fired a service winner to clinch it in 32 minutes, opening two sets to love gap and gathering boost ahead of set number three. There, we saw 12 commanding holds on both sides, with Rublev doing his best to stay in touch and reach the tie break after creating no break chances throughout the encounter. They traded early mini-breaks, and Andrey came back from 5-3 down, only to drop a point on serve at 5-6 to propel a compatriot into the semis. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3rvbFJ3