Alcaraz to face Medvedev at US Open SF, Sabalenka awaits Keys
New York, Sep 6 (EFE).- Tennis world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz will play Russia’s Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final of the United States Open after eliminating Germany’s Alexander Zverev in straight sets Wednesday in New York.
The 20-year-old Spaniard won his quarter-final match 6-3, 6-2 and 6-4 in two hours and 30 minutes and has only lost one set in his five matches so far in this Grand Slam.
The defending champion, who again wore a bandage on his left thigh and was perfect in his break opportunities, is now just one step away from playing in the final at which the public anticipate a match against Serbia’s Novak Djokovic.
Medvedev beat his compatriot Andrey Rublev and qualified for the semifinals Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 scoreline in two hours and 47 minutes amid overwhelming heat in New York.
Despite the result, Medvedev had an unpleasant afternoon, twice requesting the assistance of medical services for some type of breathing problem and using an inhaler on both occasions.
In the third set he looked at a television camera while wiping his sweat and complained about the harsh conditions in which they were playing.
“You cannot imagine,” he said. “One player (is) gonna die, and they’re gonna see.”
Aside from the extreme circumstances in which the match was played – about 34C, close to 50 percent humidity and almost 37C of thermal sensation – it was a particularly disheartening defeat for Rublev, who has reached a Grand Slam quarterfinals nine times. Four of those have been in New York, but he has never made a major semifinal.
In the women’s draw, American Madison Keys defeated Czechia’s Marketa Vondrousova on Wednesday and will play the semifinals against Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka.
Keys won the quarterfinal match 6-1, 6-4 in one hour and 26 minutes against this year’s Wimbledon winner.
The American, a finalist at Flushing Meadows in 2017, will have a difficult semifinal against Sabalenka, who next week will become world No. 1 for the first time in her career.
The Belarusian defeated China’s Qinwen Zheng 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday.
The other semifinal will be played by American Coco Gauff and the Czechia’s Karolina Muchova. EFE
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