NEW YORK -- The man the US Open crowds love to hate, Daniil Medvedev, continued his hard-court roll right into the semifinals by beating Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (6), 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 on Tuesday despite 12 double faults.
The No. 5 seed reached the final four at a major tournament for the first time.
"I felt the way I won was quite ugly,'' Medvedev said, "because that's what I had to do.''
Medvedev, 23, had his legs treated twice in the first set but played through the pain to become the youngest semifinalist at the US Open since Novak Djokovic, who was also 23, in 2010.
Medvedev has drawn plenty of attention at Flushing Meadows for the way he sarcastically thanked booing crowds, trolling them by suggesting their venom was the reason he kept winning.
Asked how he'd describe his relationship with the fans in New York, who jeered him when he was introduced in Arthur Ashe Stadium but offered cheers later, Medvedev replied: "I have two words. First one, for sure, 'electric,' because it's electric. And second one, 'controversy.'''
"So many people like my interviews. So many people don't like me,'' he said with a smile. "I can just say: I try to be myself, guys.''
Reprising his professional wrestling persona briefly, he added, "I have to say, 'Sorry, guys.' And, 'Thank you.''' He then laughed.
Medvedev will look to extend his career-best winning streak of 11 straight matches in the next round against unseeded Grigor Dimitrov, who took down five-time US Open champion Roger Federer 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday night.
Medvedev began his match with strips of black tape along his right upper arm and both upper legs, remnants of issues developed over a couple of long matches earlier in the tournament, as well as being the busiest man in the business. He leads the tour with 49 match wins in 2019, and also is coming off reaching the finals at three hard-court tuneup tournaments in a row.
Federer, for example, entered only one such event, and went 1-1.
Wawrinka said he wasn't preoccupied by Medvedev's visits from a trainer in the first set, knowing the guy had been complaining after previous matches about health issues.
"He's still winning, still playing well, and still playing better and better the more the match goes on,'' said Wawrinka, the 2016 US Open champion who was up two sets to none in the fourth round when defending champ Novak Djokovic retired from their match with a shoulder injury. "I saw him play the last few matches and been saying he has pain, and for sure he has pain. Some players like to show everybody they have pain. Some others hide it.''
After rushing the net when openings presented in the first set, Medvedev shifted gears in the second, using a mix of drop shots and lobs to shorten points. It worked. Even after a dip in the third set, Medvedev reasserted himself in the fourth.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.