Daniil Medvedev advanced to the US Open third round with a straight-sets win over American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny, overcoming a brief distraction from birds on the net. The victory on Wednesday keeps the seventh-seeded player alive in New York as top seeds navigate the tournament’s early rounds.
Daniil Medvedev is no stranger to dramatic moments on court, notably receiving a fine of almost £31,500 at last year’s US Open for an extraordinary meltdown during his first-round defeat to Benjamin Bonzi. As recently as last month’s Winston-Salem Open, where he again lost in the opening round, he spent a disconsolate change of ends questioning his future in the sport, musing maybe I should start a career in pickleball
. However, his progress at Flushing Meadows brought an avian interruption alongside his usual intensity. The seventh-seeded Russian dispatched American wildcard Sebastian Gorzny 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 on Wednesday, firing 14 aces and saving the lone break point he faced to secure his spot in the third round.
Bird Interruption on Louis Armstrong Stadium
While the first two sets went quickly — with Medvedev having already flown through the first set in just 21 minutes — the match turned slightly eccentric in the third. A pair of small birds perched on the Louis Armstrong Stadium net, prompting a disputed replay on a point Medvedev thought he had already won. The situation caused brief confusion before play resumed.
“I saw [the birds] straight away,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “I thought the point would stop straight away but it didn’t. Then we play for 45 seconds and the moment I hit the winner we say stop. I’m like, ‘Why? We played for 45 seconds!’.”
Daniil Medvedev, via BBC
Despite his visible frustration with the officiating decision during the changeover, Medvedev quickly brushed aside the avian interruption. The 30-year-old acknowledged the absurdity of the delay while expressing relief at staying in New York.
“But it’s okay. I was not happy with the decision but it is was it is. You can’t do anything with it. The situation was pretty crazy but I love this court, I’m happy to win, to stay in the US Open, to stay in New York for longer.”
Daniil Medvedev, via BBC
Navigating Hard-Court Form and Next Matchups
The straightforward victory marked a welcome shift for Medvedev, who has struggled in the hard-court build-up to the year’s final Grand Slam. The former champion found his rhythm quickly against 731st-ranked Gorzny.
Reflecting on the match dynamics, Medvedev noted the shift in momentum across the sets against the American wildcard, the world number 731.
“The first two sets he was not playing the best tennis of his life maybe. The third set was much more competitive,” Medvedev said. “At the same time I feel like I had more break points and put more pressure on him.”
Daniil Medvedev, via The Daily Star
Medvedev now advances to face Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech in the third round.
Pegula and Top Contenders Advance in New York
The wider tournament action on Wednesday saw world number three Jessica Pegula and former champion Daniil Medvedev race into the third round of the US Open with straight-sets victories. Pegula needed just 56 minutes to trounce Sofia Kenin, the former Australian Open champion now ranked 110th, 6-3, 6-1, dropping only seven points on serve while positioning herself among the contenders who could supplant Aryna Sabalenka atop the world rankings in New York. Pegula next meets another former finalist, Leylah Fernandez, after the Canadian breezed past Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew 6-4, 6-1.
Meanwhile, defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka highlighted the day-four action. World number one Sabalenka, gunning for a rare US Open three-peat, takes on 160th-ranked Russian qualifier Polina Iatcenko, while second-ranked Alcaraz caps the night session against Portugal’s Jaime Faria.
Other seeded players chasing third-round berths on Wednesday included eighth-seeded American Ben Shelton and his 11th-seeded compatriot Frances Tiafoe. Brandon Nakashima, the in-form 16th seed who was also reckoned to be among the contenders to end American men’s 23-year major title drought, was upset by 46th-ranked compatriot Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Sixth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur was hoping to finally get his campaign underway in a first-round match against Italian Andrea Guerrieri that was postponed from Tuesday by rain, while Spain’s Paula Badosa returned to finish off Australian Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-4 to book a second-round clash with fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff.
