Daniil Medvedev is on course for his second Grand Slam decider against Novak Djokovic this year after breezing into the second US Open of his career – and wife Dasha enjoyed his post-match confession.
Almost seven months after being blown away in the Australian Open final, the man behind the world number one in the rankings will have a shot at revenge should the Serb beat fourth seed Alex Zverev in the second semifinal in New York on Friday.
Zverev and Medvedev are the players between Djokovic and the Grand Slam after his victories in Melbourne, Paris and London, and whoever the Russian meets in the final will face a star in formidable form after he ensured that he has lost just one set across the entirety of the US Open by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets.
There was a turning point when Auger-Aliassime spurned set points in the second set, and the 21-year-old Canadian was left to rue those missed opportunities as Medvedev eased through 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 to become the first Russian man to reach multiple finals at the tournament.
"I was thinking, 'Don't make an ace down the line, please'," confessed the relieved winner when he was asked about how close he came to dropping the second set.
"It was a strange match, a little bit. I think everybody felt like it was going to be one-set all. You never know where the match is going to go.
"I managed to save the set points and the match turned around completely. I don't think I played my best today but I'm really happy to be in the final on Sunday."
Medvedev lost a five-set thriller against Rafael Nadal in the final in 2019, when he played the role of pantomime villain in front of a crowd that has embraced him this year.
"That was a crazy match," he said. "If it's going to be the same match on Sunday, I just hope I can win this time.
"It's always better to play first: you can just enjoy the match between your [potential] opponents without thinking about who will win.
"I'm definitely going to watch the match – hopefully I will already be back at the hotel relaxing and having dinner or whatever, just enjoying the match."
The 25-year-old's wife, Dasha, laughed in the stands when Medvedev was asked why he appears to have a small inner circle while other top seeds' hospitality boxes appear to be full during matches.
"Maybe it's superstition," he smiled. "I know that I want to do it as I want – and I want, really, my closest people to be in the box.
"The other people who are close to me, I also give quite good tickets to. In the box, I want only the people who I spend almost all of the year working with. That's usually the case, so that's why."
Despite an outstanding run that has included winning the Tour Finals in 2020, Medvedev is still awaiting his first Grand Slam title.
Zverev has lost both of his Grand Slam matches against Djokovic and five out of his last six when they have met, although he won their most recent clash in the semifinals of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
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