Frances Tiafoe Beats Daniil Medvedev to Reach US Open Quarters

Frances Tiafoe defeated former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev 7-6 (7/1), 6-4, 7-6 (8/6) on Sunday to move into the quarter-finals in New York. The 11th seed overcame the seventh-seeded Russian in straight sets, reaching the US Open last eight for the fourth time in five years.

Tiafoe, a two-time semi-finalist at Flushing Meadows, delivered his strongest work in the biggest moments against Medvedev. The American had been beaten in six of their previous seven meetings, including a straight-sets loss in the same round of the 2020 US Open, but turned that history around in Louis Armstrong Stadium.

“I played well when it counted,” Tiafoe said. “Yeah, I came up with some crazy stuff, but it had to be that good against such a quality player in Daniil.”

Tiafoe takes key points in two tiebreaks

Medvedev held leads in two of the three sets but could not convert them into a set on the scoreboard. In the opener, the 2021 US Open champion served for the set at 6-5 before Tiafoe broke back. Tiafoe then took control of the tiebreak, winning it 7-1 to establish an early advantage.

The second set went Tiafoe’s way 6-4, putting Medvedev under pressure to extend the match. The Russian responded by taking another lead in the third-set tiebreak, producing a backhand overhead to move ahead 4-3. However, he followed that point with a backhand error, and the match again swung in Tiafoe’s direction.

Medvedev still earned a set point in the deciding tiebreak, but Tiafoe won a net exchange between the pair and took the following two points to close out the contest 8-6. The result sent the American through without dropping a set.

“I should have played better in some moments of the match,” Medvedev said. “I should have made better shots, better decisions, actually. That’s what made the difference.”

The loss ended Medvedev’s campaign after another difficult Grand Slam run in 2026. The Russian has won two ATP titles this season and recorded a victory over Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells, but he did not advance beyond the round of 16 at any of the year’s Grand Slam tournaments.

Home support and an all-American quarter-final

Tiafoe had strong backing from the Louis Armstrong Stadium crowd, a court where he has never lost. After the victory, he pointed to his ear to encourage more noise and acknowledged basketball figures Lisa Leslie, AJ Dybantsa and Victor Oladipo, who were part of his cheering section.

“The energy has been amazing,” Tiafoe said in his court-side interview. “It’s like the people’s court. I’m loving the energy for sure.”

His next opponent will be fellow American Alex Michelsen, who is set to play in his first Grand Slam quarter-final. Michelsen, 22, beat Argentina’s 27th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6 (8/6), 6-4, 6-4 to set up the meeting.

The quarter-final gives Tiafoe another opportunity to build on his record at the tournament. He reached the semi-finals in 2022, when he lost a five-set match to Carlos Alcaraz, who went on to claim his first Grand Slam title later that week. Tiafoe and Alcaraz are again in the same half of the draw and could meet in a rematch if both win their next matches.