Daniil Medvedev said he ‘felt the love’ from his own supporters and rival fans as he secured a shock win over defending champion Carlos Alcaraz to book his place in the US Open final.
The Russian will face Novak Djokovic for the title in Flushing Meadows on Sunday night after a four-set win over the Spaniard, although he did have a word or two for some of the 20-year-old’s misbehaving followers.
Alcaraz collected the US Open title last season but crashed out at the semi-finals this time with a surprise defeat to the world number three
Alcaraz collected the US Open title last season but crashed out at the semi-finals this time with a surprise defeat to the world number three
Medvedev tore up the script by knocking out world number one Alcaraz, winning 7-6 (3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 in New York.
Many fans were expecting the tennis wonderkid to book another final with Djokovic to continue their rivalry, following their epic Wimbledon final which Alcaraz won in June.
But world number three Medvedev had other ideas as he looks to reclaim the US Open title he won two years ago.
Alcaraz has quickly become the poster boy of the post-big three era, despite two of the three still sticking around with Djokovic still adding titles to his cabinet and Rafael Nadal preparing for his final season on the tour.
As such, the young Spaniard had plenty of fans in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, but it appears Medvedev won them over with his playful charm and flawless serve, on more than one occasion cupping his ears to the noise.
But he was not happy with the antics of ‘about 1,000 Spaniards’ who attempted to put the Russian off in the closing stages of the match by yelling between serves.
“First of all, I have to be honest, the crowd was unbelievable today, absolutely unbelievable,” he said in his on-court interview after the huge win.
“I mean it. We had some crazy points and I felt love for both sides.
Medvedev will now play Djokovic in Sunday’s final – the man he beat to win the 2021 US Open, the only Grand Slam of his career so far
now play Djokovic in Sunday’s final – the man he beat to win the 2021 US Open, the only Grand Slam of his career so far
“The only thing is probably 1,000 Spanish guys at 5-3 started screaming between second and second serves. That’s not so nice.
“But I guess they were desperate. I’m happy it didn’t help and they can go to sleep now.”
In the post-game press conference, he even vowed to throw out fans for doing the same if he ever caught them in the stands.
Medvedev added: “For whatever reason in the last game of the match probably like 1,000 Spanish guys started yelling and shouting between the first and second serves and that’s not nice, but what can you do?
“I can tell you that, if after my career I’m watching a tennis match and someone does it, I’m going to be like [pointing] ‘It’s him! It’s him! This guy should be out of the tournament!’
“I’m not going to even watch the match [anymore], I’m going to be like, ‘It’s him who did it, kick him out!’”
