Ten matches, ten wins
Louis Armstrong Stadium has never beaten Frances Tiafoe. It did not start on Sunday night. The 11th seed knocked out Daniil Medvedev 7-6, 6-4, 7-6 in the fourth round of the US Open, taking his career record on that court to 10-0.
Medvedev won this title in 2021 and led their head-to-head 6-1 going in. Sunday was the first time Tiafoe got him in a regular tour match.
“You hear the noise,” Tiafoe said afterwards. “It’s been amazing man, playing on this court. It’s like the people’s court. I keep asking to play on this court. Daniil’s been so good, first time I’ve beat him in a regular match. Super pumped about it.”
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A third set that nearly slipped
The scoreline reads clean. It was not. Tiafoe faced set point in the third and answered with a shot that kept the tie-break alive, then closed it out. He had already taken the opener in a tie-break, which tells you how thin the margins were on a night when neither man broke serve easily.
He pushed forward all evening rather than waiting for Medvedev to miss. “I’m coming forward, I’m having fun and I’m not trying to wait for the moment,” he said. “You put all that together and here you go, quarterfinals of the Open.”
Where this sits in his year
This is Tiafoe’s first Grand Slam quarter-final since Roland Garros in 2025. It is also his fourth win of the season over a top-10 opponent, a number bettered only by world number one Jannik Sinner, who is missing this tournament through injury. Victory number 42 of the calendar year is a personal best for the 28-year-old.
Queens has been the setting for most of his best tennis. He reached the semi-finals here in 2022 and 2024, the two deepest runs of his career at a major, and went out in the third round last year. He needed five sets to survive Martin Damm Jr. in the opening round this time, then swept past Valentin Vacherot for the loss of nine games.
An all-American quarter-final
Next comes Alex Michelsen, who removed 27th seed Tomas Etcheverry 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 on the same day. Five of the seven Americans in fourth-round action on Sunday advanced, the sort of afternoon the home draw had been threatening all fortnight.
Two Americans, one semi-final place, and Tiafoe carrying a court record he has no intention of handing over.
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