Dominic Thiem tames De Minaur; to take on Mededev in semis

NEW YORK: Second seed Dominic Thiem delivered a sublime performance to dismantle Australian Alex de Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday and canter into the semi-finals of the US Open.

Thiem needed a little over two hours to record the win under the closed roof of Arthur Ashe Stadium despite being put under constant pressure by De Minaur, who is nicknamed 'Demon' and known for his never-say-die attitude and speedy court coverage.

De Minaur advanced to the net at every opportunity to disrupt Thiem's baseline game and while the plan worked initially the 27-year-old Austrian adjusted and started finding winners past his advancing opponent.

De Minaur's serve was vulnerable all night and Thiem, who amassed 43 winners, converted seven of his 13 breakpoint opportunities. De Minaur could take only two of the seven chances he had to break Thiem's serve.

Thiem, the highest surviving seed at Flushing Meadows, had beaten the Australian in their two previous encounters and started their third 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 lead 40-0 in the fifth game with the score tied at 2-2.

However, Thiem fought his way back into the game and broke the Australian to lead 3-2, then won three straight games to take the set.

The Austrian's early lead in the third set evaporated as De Minaur rallied to level things but a second break of serve sealed the match for Thiem.

Thiem will meet Russian Daniil Medvedev for a place in his fourth Grand Slam final.

Daniil Medvedev continued his march towards a first Grand Slam title on Wednesday, powering into the US Open semi-finals with a clinical 7-6(6), 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over childhood friend Andrey Rublev.

The first Russian duo in the quarter-finals 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 Rafa 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. Agencies

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