New York: Second seed Dominic Thiem put in a sublime performance to dismantle Australian Alex de Minaur's challenge during a 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 victory on Wednesday and canter into the semifinals of the US Open.
The 27-year-old Thiem, the highest seed surviving at Flushing Meadows, had not previously lost to the Australian and started their third career meeting on a brisk note, breaking De Minaur's serve three consecutive times to win the opening set.
De Minaur started on a more positive note in the second, winning 11 straight points on serve to go up 40-0 in the fifth before being broken with Thiem serving out the stanza with a double break.
The Austrian's early lead in the third set evaporated as De Minaur kept fighting but a second break of serve sealed the match for Thiem, who will next meet Russian Daniil Medvedev for a place in his fourth Grand Slam final.
Medvedev continued his march towards a first Grand Slam title with a clinical 7-6(6), 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over childhood friend Andrey Rublev.
The first Russian duo in the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam since Igor Andreev and Nikolay Davydenko at Roland Garros in 2007, Medvedev showed no fear during a ruthless display that sent him through to the last four without losing a set.
No player in the Open Era has won the US Open men’s title without dropping a set.
With Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal missing, and top seed Novak Djokovic having been disqualified for hitting a line judge with a ball, Medvedev showed why he is now the bookmakers' favourite to win in New York.
The third seed never gave Rublev a break chance in the entire match while hammering down 16 aces.
"I felt like I could get in trouble so I was very happy with the win," said Medvedev, who called for the trainer to work on his shoulder during the match. "One point decided two sets so it was a tough match."
