(New York-Flushing Meadows) - World number five Daniil Medvedev sails past unseeded Nuno Borges in straight sets, achieving his 11th Grand Slam quarterfinal, a fifth at the US Open on Monday.
Former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev sailed past Portuguese player Nuno Borges with a 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 triumph in one hour and 51 minutes on Monday in the city that never sleeps.
Interviewed on the court by long-time rival, Australian Nick Kyrgios, he said: “There are days when it is tougher to go out on court and practice, but I have the mentality that if the other guy practices more than me, I have less chances to win, and I want to win all the time. So, I try to practice as much as I can.”
Adding: “I’ve had a lot of success here at the US Open; the last time I lost in the fourth round was against you. Good memories.”
Fifth seed Medvedev was a man on a mission when he hit the court on Monday afternoon to face World No. 34 Borges, kicking off the men’s singles action in the Arthur Ashe Stadium for a place in the Grand Slam quarterfinals.
Having reached the second week at Flushing Meadows for the sixth consecutive time in eighth appearances, the 2021 champion and two-time runner-up hit first, storming to take the opening set 6-0 in just 23 minutes.
In the second set, Borges began to take risks, moving forward to steal points at the net.
Nonetheless, all efforts did not harm the 20-time ATP titlist, whose superb court coverage neutralized his adversary, the second-ever Portuguese male in the fourth round of the US Open since Joao Sousa in 2018.
Medvedev secured a nearly flawless second set 6-1, taking control of the match, dropping just one game to open a two-set to-love advantage.
In the third set, the 27-year-old Portuguese player, who this season captured his maiden ATP title in Bastad, prevailing over 22-time major champion Rafael Nadal in the final, attempted a recovery, converting one of the two break point opportunities he had in the set.
However, the only former champion remaining in the men’s field was the most solid player on the court throughout the contest.
Medvedev, 28, sentenced the one-way street match 6-3 to secure a straightforward win, firing 21 winners to 20 unforced errors, converting 8 of 16 break points, and winning 78 percent of points on his first serve.
The former world number one has claimed all his 20 career titles at 20 different venues, winning 18 of his 20 singles titles on the hard court surface.
Meanwhile, despite falling today, Borges, competing in the round of 16 in New York for the first time, can be proud of an outstanding campaign.
The Moscow native will next square off against either world number one Jannik Sinner or 14th seed Tommy Paul.
En Route to the Last Eight
Looking for championship glory for a second time in the Big Apple, Medvedev launched his campaign on the hard courts at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over Serbian Dusan Lajovic.
Then, he overpowered Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 6-2, 7-6(5) in the second round before claiming a 6-3, 6-4, 6-3 victory against Italian Flavio Cobolli, making it through to the fourth round in blistering form.
