Still reeling from his inability to compete at Wimbledon, Daniil Medvedev will be hoping for a strong fortnight in New York as he seeks to defend his US Open title. The Russian is still the favourite for the tournament but has looked vulnerable in comparison to the man who was chasing No. 1 in the rankings for so long. He will play Yu Wibing in round three, a qualifier who won the Boys Singles title here back in 2017.
Many players have had their careers stunted during the pandemic but the record of Yibing definitely makes you think what could have happened. He did not play from March 2019 until January 2022 but it hasn’t shown with the 22 year-old going 32-4 on the year. That includes four Challenger Tour titles and a whole host of top 200 wins, suggesting that he is set for the top 100 very soon. He crushed No. 35 Nikoloz Basilashvili in round one before grinding out a tight five setter against Nuno Borges on Wednesday. “There’s no time for celebrations yet,” he said after the latter. “I have a tough opponent next round. That’s my mindset. I’m here to play the tournament. When the tournament finishes, we do parties, but not during the tournament.”
Arthur Rinderknech could have been a tricky opponent for Medvedev but the defending champion dealt with him with the minimum of fuss, going unbroken in a 6-2 7-5 6-3 win to keep it as 0 sets lost through two matches. “The most important is to win, to stay in the tournament, to try to get as far as possible, for sure try to raise your level when the opponents go stronger and stronger. Finally you’re going to play somebody who has a Grand Slam or something like this.” Medvedev said afterwards.
It is always hard to call the type of match where the surging up and comer takes on an elite player for the first time. On many occasions, it ends up being a reality check and something to learn from. Yibing will need to catch the World No. 1 early and has enough in his game to trouble him for a short while. However, outlasting the very best in best of five is always going to be difficult and it is likely to be too early for the Chinese star.
Prediction – Daniil Medvedev in four sets
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