The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Medvedev advances to final of U.S. Open in three sets
Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia reached his third Grand Slam singles event final and second at the U.S. Open by relentlessly wearing down No. 12 seed Felix Auger-aliassime of Canada in a 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 victory Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
Medvedev was opportunistic and solid in earning a spot in Sunday’s final against the winner of Friday night’s semifinal involving No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 4 Alexander Zverev. Medvedev has lost only one set in getting this far.
Medvedev had to fend off two set points in the second set against Auger-aliassime on Friday but escaped both times thanks to a couple of timely shots and some mistakes by the 21-year-old Auger-aliassime.
Medvedev reached the Australian Open final earlier this year, where he lost to Djokovic in straight sets. In the 2019 U.S. Open final Medvedev came back from two sets down against Rafael Nadal to force a fifth set, but Nadal held him off.
In saving those two set points, Medvedev said he was able to turn the match around. But he wasn’t sure at the time he could pull it off. He said his overriding thought was, “Don’t make an ace on the line, please. I’m going to make you play.”
Auger-aliassime was the first Canadian man to reach the singles semifinals of the U.S. Open since the tournament began in 1881.
“I don’t think I played my best, but I’m happy to be in the final,” said Medvedev, whose plans included watching from the comfort of his hotel room while Djokovic and Zverev squared off Friday night.
Global citizens, women’s finalists have fans all over
Emma Raducanu first met Leylah Fernandez at a tournament for players 12 and under, around the time one of Fernandez’s teachers urged her to give up the tennis dream.
They shared a love of the game and a connection to Canada, where Fernandez lived and Raducanu was born, helping build a quick relationship. But the teenagers have much more in common — maybe more than they realized.
They will attract an audience to their U.S. Open women’s final today that extends far beyond the fans who will be at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
People will be watching in Asia: The 18-year-old Raducanu’s mother is from China and the 19-year-old Fernandez’s is Filipino Canadian.
And in Latin America: Jorge Fernandez is from Ecuador.
And in Europe: Raducanu’s father is from Romania.
And, of course, in Canada: Fernandez was born in Montreal (although she has been based in Florida for several years); Raducanu was born in Toronto and still holds a passport from that country (her family moved to England when she was 2).
Beyond being terrific tennis players, these teenagers are citizens of the world.
“This can only be good for the tennis game and for the WTA altogether,” said Jorge Fernandez, who answered questions Friday in English, Spanish and French.