As Daniil Medvedev stepped on to Arthur Ashe Stadium for the first grand slam quarter-final of his career, he was greeted by the familiar song that has come to define this manic New York summer – a glorious harmony of boos. It seemed to only help the Russian as he overcame his litany of injuries once again to defeat Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the US Open.

The crowd’s theatrical jeering and Medvedev’s snarky retorts have made a popular duo in New York, but often ignored is the reason that he has craved their energy in the first place: he has ground through 20 wins in 22 matches across five weeks, including winning his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati.

The effort has shown. Throughout this week, the fifth seed has taken to the court with lines of tape strewn across his body. Both adductors are sore, his right shoulder is painful. He admitted that he had taken as many painkillers as possible.

Although Medvedev broke in the opening game, it quickly became clear that his body was broken. Moving uncomfortably around the court, he took a medical time out at 4-3 to heavily wrap his left quadriceps and he also took a painkiller. He was hobbling as he lost his serve while serving for the set at 5-4.

The 23-year-old has become known for his ability to wear down his opponents’ spirit and bodies in long, drawn-out rallies but injury brought on the absurd.

Unable to grind, he began to shorten points, taking the ball early and chasing the net at the first opportunity. Nobody was more confused than Wawrinka, whose pre-match plans were laid to waste.

Medvedev took the first set but not before Wawrinka badly sprayed a forehand wide on his own set point at 6-5 in the tie-break. Early in the second set, another loose forehand error from the Swiss led to the break for 3-1 as Medvedev held throughout.

Wawrinka – who won this championship three years ago by defeating Novak Djokovic in the final – finally settled and won the third set, but it was too late. By the fourth set, the painkiller was working and Medvedev could revert to his trusted style, digging a trench far behind the baseline and grinding through two breaks to victory.

“I am surprised. I am surprised. That’s what I’ve been working for all my life, especially the last two and a half years,” said Medvedev. “ That’s where I’ve been going step by step. I was improving my rankings. But I am still really surprised with the way this last four weeks have been going ... that’s what I’ve been working for. That’s what I’ve dreamed of. I’ve achieved some of what I’ve dreamt.



“First two sets, I didn’t have any emotions because in my mind, I’m losing the match because of my leg. I’m either going to retire or come back to the locker room in one hour as the loser of the match.

“I am still really painful in my leg. I knew I have to play without rhythm. Some games I have to not run to relax my leg. I was hitting full power, then suddenly I was doing dropshots in the middle. I knew I should not give him any rhythm. In crucial moments maybe it will make him miss. That’s what has worked. Of course, I would prefer to win in a normal way with a normal tennis game, but that’s how I won. Hopefully physically I will feel better.”



Wawrinka paid tribute to his opponent. “In general he’s playing really well. He’s really solid. He has a tough game to play,” he said.

“I didn’t start well. I never really find the right rhythm. I wanted to find between staying back and being offensive. Didn’t serve so well. He was playing well. He was there when he need it, and he was the better player today. When I saw he was taking time out, for me was not a problem. I knew he will fight anyway and that he’s a tough player to beat. Today he was better player than me.”

A year ago, Medvedev arrived in the north American hardcourt summer ranked 68, a non-entity. By reaching his first grand slam semi-final, he will be ranked fourth in the world behind Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

In the end, the boos and jeers have been the soundtrack to the rise of a winner.