Before the 2024 US Open, experts focused on three candidates Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, while Daniil Medvedev was among the challenges.
For that reason, most predict the semi-final between Sinner and Alcaraz before the final match is the winner of this match against Djokovic. However, after nearly 2 weeks of many changes, both Alcaraz and Djokovic were eliminated from the 2nd and 3rd rounds respectively.
And as many have shifted to the final between Sinner and Alexander Zverev - the No. 4 seed - the German tennis player has only reached the quarter-finals.
In the end, Sinner - the No. 1 seed, vs Medvedev - the No. 5 seed will definitely be the biggest match at Flushing Meadow this year. Experts call this an early final match, because in the remaining matches, whether Sinner or Medvedev entered the semi-finals and finals, the opponent on the other side of the net only had the highest ranking as the 10th seed position ( Alex de Minaur).
Sinner and Medvedev are the remaining two Grand Slam champions to enter this round in the men's singles event.
"Hopefully we can have a great match," Medvedev said after defeating Nuno Borges in the fourth round. "I know if I want to beat him, I need to show my full potential, which I have done a few times."
Medvedev, 28, has a 7-5 head-to-head record against Sinner, and won in the last meeting, a thrilling five-set win in the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
But Sinner, 23, has won five of his previous six meetings, including a five-set win at the 2024 Australian Open final, where he came back from behind two sets to win his first Grand Slam title.
Sinner became the first Italian player (both men's and women's) to win the Australian Open and the eighth men's player to come back from a 2-0 defeat in a major tournament final.
"I will try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open," Medvedev, who had his first Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open, said with a smile.
While Medvedev easily passed the fourth round, Sinner was tested by American tennis player Tommy Paul in strong winds on Monday night.
Its different from daytime games, but its great to play this game, Sinner said. You know, playing against an American player here in this arena is difficult under all circumstances.
Sinner has remained largely mentally stable after the competition over his positive test results for banned substances earlier this year but has yet to escape a penalty.
Psychology is also the front that can decide this match, when Medvedev is easily affected by the impact from the stands.
This year, Sinner has played well on hard courts - 4/5 of his titles have come on this court and the results have been 32-2 (only losing to Alcaraz at Indian Wells and Andrey Rublev at Montreal).
As for Medvedev, he has had top performances in this department in the past, but this year he has not been very good (22-6) and has not won any titles (losing in the Australian Open and Indian Wells finals).
The match between Sinner and Medvedev is scheduled to start at 07:30 on September 5.
