The No. 2 seed booked a spot in his second Open final, beating the 12th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2. Medvedev will play either Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev.
When Daniil Medvedev made his first U.S. Open final two years ago, he did it to a soundtrack of frequent boos, leaning into a villain role he acquired during a contentious third-round match and goading the crowd before ultimately winning it over with his valorous losing effort in the final against Rafael Nadal. This year, on his second trip to the final, Medvedev raced quietly through the draw, winning with little drama or excitement compared with the teenagers Leylah Fernandez and Emma Raducanu, who have electrified the women’s draw, and with Novak Djokovic’s quest for the Grand Slam on the other half of the men’s draw. The second-seeded Medvedev advanced on Friday afternoon, beating the 12th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime,6-4,7-5,6-2. Medvedev,25, awaits the winner of the second semifinal between the top-seeded Djokovic and the fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev. Medvedev has dropped only one set in the tournament, against the qualifier Botic Van de Zandschulp in the quarterfinals. He has spent only 11 hours and 51 minutes on court en route to the final, less time than Fernandez needed to reach her final while playing in the best-of-three format vs. the best-of-five for the men. Medvedev played his typical style against Auger-Aliassime, hitting big serves while neutralizing his opponent’s power by standing in the outer realms of the court to return.
