In the third round of the U.S. Open, Daniil Medvedev, the third seed, defeated the in-form Sebastian Baez, ending the Argentine’s 12-match winning streak. Medvedev won 6-2, 6-2, 7-6(6) to advance to the fourth round of the tournament. This marked the second consecutive match in which Medvedev had to start one day and finish the next, following a four-set battle with Australian Christopher O’Connell that began late at night and concluded early the next morning.
During the match against Baez, which commenced just before 11 p.m. ET (0300 GMT), Medvedev quickly took control by breaking Baez’s serve twice, securing a 4-1 lead in the opening set. In the second set, Medvedev continued his dominance by breaking Baez early, sprinting to a 2-0 lead.
However, Baez demonstrated resilience and built a 5-2 advantage in the third set before rain interrupted play and the roof had to be closed. Following the rain delay, Medvedev refocused and broke Baez to narrow the gap to 5-4, ultimately winning the set in a tie-break, 8-6.
Medvedev acknowledged the competitiveness of the match, stating, “It felt like we were both playing well in the first two sets, and I was just a little better on the crucial points.” He also mentioned that Baez elevated his game in the third set, making the match more challenging.
With this victory, Medvedev set up an intriguing fourth-round clash with Australian player Alex de Minaur. The two have faced each other six times, with Medvedev winning four of those encounters. However, de Minaur has claimed victory in their last two meetings, including a quarter-final match at last month’s Canadian Open.
