Carlos Alcaraz will take on Daniil Medvedev for a spot in the 2023 US Open final, and it promises to be a really good one.
Alcaraz faced a somewhat tired Alexander Zverev and had no issues beating him, even though he didn't play his best tennis. He hit a good peak at times but, for the most part, didn't play at the peak of his abilities. Whether his leg has something to do with it remains unknown, but he's marching on.
Earlier in the day, Daniil Medvedev ousted Andrey Rublev in a very bizarre match that could have gone either way. Medvedev himself didn't play a very good match but got pretty lucky with Rublev struggling to really get out of his way.
The consequence of that is another match between them, the first since Wimbledon and 3rd overall this year.
Head-to-head:
So, how did the previous ones go? Pretty one-sided. We have seen three matches so far on the ATP Tour, and Alcaraz won two of those. Both happened this year: one at Indian Wells and one at Wimbledon. Neither win was hard to acquire for Alcaraz, who overwhelmed Medvedev with his shot-making ability.
Prediction:
The style of play Medvedev likes isn't that good against Alcaraz because the Spaniard is very qualified to outhit you from the baseline. At times, he can miss quite a bit, but for the most part, he's really good at avoiding that, so much so, that even players like Djokovic struggle against it.
Medvedev just doesn't have a good answer for him, and it's unlikely to change in New York. The Russian's serve could be one way to disrupt the rhythm of the Spaniard, but I don't see it happening. He didn't play anything special against Rublev, and he'll need far more for Alcaraz.
Prediction: Carlos Alcaraz to win in three sets.
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