Third seed Daniil Medvedev will face eighth seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinal of the 2023 US Open. The match will be played on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
2021 champion Daniil Medvedev passed his first acid test of the tournament as he defeated Australia's Alex de Minaur 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 in the fourth round. De Minaur was Medvedev's first-seeded opponent at this year's US Open. But despite a tepid start to the match in which the third seed dropped his second set of the tournament, Medvedev summoned his best tennis, edging out de Minaur in a tight second set, garnering one break. Thereafter, sweltering conditions appeared to slow down the fast-footed Aussie, who ran on fumes. Medvedev eased through in the last two sets, finishing the match with 30 winners against 32 unforced errors.
Andrey Rublev, for his part, ended British interest at this year's US Open as he thwarted aside Next Gen star Jack Draper who was playing in the second week of a Slam for the first time. Rublev was given an almighty scare as Draper fought back from a set down, saving all six break points he faced in the second stanza, and winning four of the final five games of the set to draw level. Draper's monstrous serving and immense firepower match Rublev for the better part of the match up to that stage. But the Russian is not a top 10 player by accident, and he came out of hibernation, to outmuscle Draper in baseline exchanges, and use his full repertoire to win in four sets.
Daniil Medvedev enjoys this matchup winning in five of their seven head-to-head contests. Medvedev won their first four meetings in a row before Rublev won back-to-back matches in the last two years. But normal service resumed this season with the third seed emerging as a comfortable winner in the Dubai final. Rublev has had a tougher route to the quarterfinal, playing at least a trio of four-set matches. He's spent the most time on the court than Medvedev. Medvedev is a world-class defensive player and offers less incoming ball speed. Rublev therefore has to generate his own power. It's just what Medvedev wants and the lack of variation will be Rublev's undoing.
