<p>Third seed Daniil Medvedev said Thursday he would benefit from playing in front no fans when he takes on US wildcard J.J. Wolf in the last 32 of the US Open.</p>.<p>Medvedev was booed during his run to the final of the Flushing Meadows tournament in 2019, at times seeming to relish in his role as pantomime villain.</p>.<p>But Medvedev isn't enduring any heckles this year with the tournament taking place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>The Russian will play Wolf, a 21-year-old making his Grand Slam debut, on Saturday for a spot in the last 16.</p>.<p>"Yeah, playing an American in (the) USA without the crowd is an advantage. This is normal, Medvedev said after making light work of his second-round match against Christoper O'Connell.</p>.<p>The Russian progressed to the third round 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 at the expense of the 116th-ranked Australian inside the US National Tennis Center's Louis Armstrong Stadium.</p>.<p>"It was great match. Nothing special but really happy to win in three sets," he said.</p>.<p>The 24-year-old world number five, seeking his first Grand Slam, is looking to go one better than last year when he lost an epic five-set final to Rafael Nadal.</p>.<p>He had frosty relations with the New York crowd on his march to the last-two showpiece though.</p>.<p>Booed by fans after an obscene gesture in the third round, Medvedev taunted them in response by saying he thrived on their jeers for the energy to win. He later apologized.</p>
<p>Third seed Daniil Medvedev said Thursday he would benefit from playing in front no fans when he takes on US wildcard J.J. Wolf in the last 32 of the US Open.</p>.<p>Medvedev was booed during his run to the final of the Flushing Meadows tournament in 2019, at times seeming to relish in his role as pantomime villain.</p>.<p>But Medvedev isn't enduring any heckles this year with the tournament taking place behind closed doors due to the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>The Russian will play Wolf, a 21-year-old making his Grand Slam debut, on Saturday for a spot in the last 16.</p>.<p>"Yeah, playing an American in (the) USA without the crowd is an advantage. This is normal, Medvedev said after making light work of his second-round match against Christoper O'Connell.</p>.<p>The Russian progressed to the third round 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 at the expense of the 116th-ranked Australian inside the US National Tennis Center's Louis Armstrong Stadium.</p>.<p>"It was great match. Nothing special but really happy to win in three sets," he said.</p>.<p>The 24-year-old world number five, seeking his first Grand Slam, is looking to go one better than last year when he lost an epic five-set final to Rafael Nadal.</p>.<p>He had frosty relations with the New York crowd on his march to the last-two showpiece though.</p>.<p>Booed by fans after an obscene gesture in the third round, Medvedev taunted them in response by saying he thrived on their jeers for the energy to win. He later apologized.</p>