Daniil Medvedev stuns Carlos Alcaraz in US Open semis to set up finals matchup with Novak Djokovic after hard-fought four-set victory in Queens

Daniil Medvedev stunned No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz with a phenomenal four set victory to set up a mouthwatering final vs. Novak Djokovic. 

The Russian No. 3 seed held his nerve after Alcaraz tried, but failed, to fight back from two sets down. 

After claiming the third, the Spaniard could not overcome the genius of Medvedev, who needed four match points to take the fourth, ultimately winning 7-6 6-1 3-6 6-3.

Medvedev immediately put his finger to his ear following the elimination of last year’s champion. 

Now, he has the opportunity to once more crush Djokovic’s US Open dreams. Medvedev defeated the Serb – and denied him a calendar slam – in the 2021 iteration.

It halted Djokovic from completing what would have been the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s tennis since Rod Laver in 1969. 

The defending champion was staggeringly eliminated despite dropping one set prior to Friday

Carlos Alcaraz saved three match points but failed to save the fourth as he lost Friday night

The Russian placed one finger to each ear, in what was ostensibly a rebuke to the NYC crowd

Alcaraz quite often attempted to liven the crowd – pointing to his ear on multiple occasions

It will be Medvedev’s third Flushing Meadows Final. The Russian admitted to make it there he played a ’12 out of 10 game.’ 

‘To beat him you’ve got to be better than yourself and tonight I did it,’ he said during his on-court postgame interview. 

Despite something of a love-hate relationship with the Arthur Ashe crowd, he said they were ‘unbelievable’ before adding a small selection of unruly Alcaraz fans ‘can go to sleep now.’ 

More to come…