NEW YORK, BALIPOST.com – Roger Federer cruised into the last eight Sunday at the US Open while Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev took inspiration from a booing crowd to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
Federer, a five-time champion at Flushing Meadows, advanced to the US Open quarter-finals for the 13th time by routing Belgian 15th seed David Goffin 6-2, 6-2, 6-0 in only 79 minutes.
“Sometimes these scores just happen,” Federer said. “You catch a good day, the opponent doesn’t, then things happen very quickly… I found my groove after a while and was able to roll really. Never looked back.
“In a fourth round like this, if you can keep it nice, short, simple, you have to take them. I’m very happy.”
The 38-year-old Swiss third seed, trying to stretch his men’s Grand Slam record title total to 21, advanced to a last-eight matchup with Bulgaria’s 78th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov.
Federer’s victory also kept him on a semi-final collision course with Serbia’s top-seeded defending champion Novak Djokovic, who plays later in Arthur Ashe Stadium against Swiss 23rd seed Stan Wawrinka, a three-time Grand Slam champion.
Djokovic, a 16-time Grand Slam champion who has captured four of the past five Slam crowns, is 19-5 against Wawrinka but they have not played since the Swiss defeated Djokovic in the 2016 US Open final.
Medvedev, a winner at Cincinnati and runner-up at Montreal and Washington in hardcourt tuneup events, advanced into Djokovic’s quarter-final path by beating 118th-ranked German qualifier Dominik Koepfer 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2).
Medvedev, fined $9,000 for an obscene gesture and unsportsmanlike conduct in a third-round victory, was booed by the crowd after the match and encouraged the jeers, waving a finger to symbolize he is number one and saying they encouraged him to keep playing while hurt out of spite.
“I was painful in my attitude,” said Medvedev. “I was painful in my shoulder. I was wondering if I was going to play. And you guys gave me the energy. (AFP)
