US Open: Daniil Medvedev overcomes Felix Auger-Aliassime, books final berth

Russia`s Daniil Medvedev hits a return to Canada`s Felix Auger-Aliassime during their 2021 US Open Tennis tournament men`s semifinal match at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York. Pic/AFP

Russian Daniil Medvedev marched into the US Open final after he produced a dominant performance to overcome 12th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows in New York.

The second seed, who has dropped just one set en route to the final, is now one match away from capturing his first major title at Flushing Meadows. The Russian soaked up the pressure from Auger-Aliassime's powerful groundstrokes and rallied from 2-5 in the second set, saving two set points at 4-5, before advancing after two hours and three minutes on Saturday (IST).

The 25-year-old, who hit 37 winners and committed 25 unforced errors, struck the ball with great depth as he forced the Canadian to overhit, extending his ATP head-to-head lead against Auger-Aliassime to 2-0.

Medvedev has fond memories at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, having enjoyed a run to his maiden Slam final in New York in 2019. The 25-year-old rallied from two sets down to force a fifth set against Rafael Nadal, before the Spaniard prevailed 6-4 in the decider.

The Russian, who also advanced to the semifinals last year, will face either world No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia or fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev in his second US Open title match.

Also Read: US Open: Alexander Zverev storms into semis with 16th win in a row

Of the 25-year-old's possible final opponents, Medvedev trails Djokovic 3-5 in their ATP head-to-head, losing to the top seed in his second major final at the Australian Open this year. The world No. 2 Medvedev also trails Zverev 4-5, but has won their three most recent encounters at the ATP Cup, Nitto ATP Finals and at the Rolex Paris Masters.

Medvedev has enjoyed a strong North American hard-court swing, having captured his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto, before advancing to the semifinals in Cincinnati. The second seed has now compiled a 17-2 record since Wimbledon.

Earlier this season, the 12-time tour-level champion helped guide Russia to the ATP Cup title and also lifted trophies on hard in Marseille and grass in Mallorca. Medvedev now holds a 46-10 record on the season.

Felix Auger-Aliassime was competing in his maiden major semi-final and was the first Canadian male to reach the last four at the US Open in the tournament's history (since 1881).

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