Daniil Medvedev aiming to reach first Slam quarterfinal at US Open

Daniil Medvedev isn't aiming too big going into the US Open, even though he has just reached three hardcourt finals in a row and won the Cincinnati Masters.

The 23-year-old Russian starts as the fourth favorite for the tournament behind the top three of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, but notes that he still lacks Grand Slam experience.

"I'm sure I can win a Masters because I just did it, but winning a Grand Slam is different. At this moment I haven't been in the quarterfinal yet," he told press at Cincinnati. "So when somebody asked me in Montreal, I think, they asked actually about Montreal and US Open, I said, in Montreal I'd be satisfied with the quarterfinal. Did better. In US Open, I will be satisfied, doesn't mean happy, with a quarterfinal."

If he gets there, he won't want to stop.

"If I will be in quarterfinal, I will try to do my best to win everything," he said. "But at this moment I need to take it step by step and just become better player every day."

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To do it, he'll be looking to use his new weapon: his serve. Though he's become known more recently for his consistency off the ground, Medvedev's big serving on important points was particularly prominent during his Cincinnati victory.

"Actually, I suppose myself as a very good returner all the time... The most surprising thing for me is the way I have been serving," he said. "Actually that's not usually my biggest weapon, and that's been working amazing these three weeks, all these tournaments.

"And also, as you see, I'm not able to hit 140-mile-per-hour serves, I would say kind of like Novak, because he can be a great server when he's on fire and he's not serving more than 120 and it's so tough to return."

He's been so successful during the hard-court season, the No. 5's biggest concern might be exhaustion. Medvedev has played 16 matches in three weeks. But he's not complaining.

"You could see I was ready physically for these three weeks," said the Russian. We will work on a plan with my team, how to make the best plan to recover and to be ready."

Medvedev has five career titles.