Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic made no room for Daniil Medvedev to prevent him from making history for the second time as he defeated his Russian opponent 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the US Open final. 24. Margaret Court’s record of winning four Grand Slam titles.
Djokovic’s fourth win in 10 finals at Flushing Meadows capped another impressive season in four majors, following his wins at the Australian Open and French Open.
According to Reuters, he will regain the top spot in the world rankings on Monday.
The 36-year-old Serbian star became the oldest player to win a US Open men’s singles title in the professional era and the first player to win 3 Grand Slam titles 4 times in one season.
“It means everything to me, I’m living my childhood dream,” Djokovic said of his 24th major title.
Djokovic and Federer qualified for Roland Garros semifinals
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic and Switzerland’s Roger Federer took another step forward at Roland Garros.
He added: “To enter the history of this sport is really special, it’s hard to describe in words. I dreamed of becoming the best player in the world since my childhood, when I was 7 or 8 years old.”
Djokovic has already collected more Grand Slam titles than any other player, equaling the record on the court at both the men’s and women’s levels, making the dream come true.
After winning his historic title, he tossed his racket in the air, knelt amid a standing ovation, then went to the stands to embrace his daughter, wearing the number 24 “Mamba Forever” shirt.
He wanted to highlight his historic number with this shirt, honoring his late friend Kobe Bryant, the American basketball star and Los Angeles Lakers legend who wore the same number during his illustrious career before his death in a helicopter crash.
Djokovic said, “I thought about wearing this shirt if I had a chance to win the tournament. Kobe is a close friend and we talked a lot about the winning mentality.”
Nadal defeated Medvedev for his fourth US Open title
Rafael Nadal defeated top seed Daniil Medvedev in a thrilling 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 final to claim his fourth US Open title and one more. He equaled his rival Roger Federer’s record in Grand Slams.
He continued: “When I was injured, he was one of the people I trusted the most. He was always there for support and advice. I thought of the number 24 he wore when he was with the Lakers and a legend. The world of basketball.”
Although they are the sport’s most charismatic figures, neither Djokovic nor Medvedev enjoy the full support of New York fans.
In last night’s women’s singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, American Coco Goff was not cheering when she won the title, and the crowd’s bias was evident for neither player.
Djokovic entered the court with a desire to avenge his Russian rival, whom he lost to make history two years ago.
In their last meeting at the US Open in the 2021 final, Medvedev won his only major title and prevented Djokovic from dominating all four major titles in a calendar year.
Lessons learned
Djokovic didn’t talk about “revenge” en route to the final, but the Serbian is known for taming his anger and turning defeats into lessons learned.
As expected in a clash between two great players on hard courts, each point traded long balls from the baseline.
Djokovic began to press the third seed and broke his first chance to lead 3-0.
It was the only break Djokovic needed against Medvedev, who had not earned any break points in the first set.
During a marathon second set that lasted one hour and 44 minutes, Medvedev fought off an exhausted Djokovic on long, difficult points.
But the Russian’s prodigious efforts did not pay off as he failed to capitalize on a few opportunities to break serve in the decisive second set when he led 6-5.
Medvedev led 3-1 in the tie-break but was unable to deliver the knockout blow to Djokovic, who won 7-5.
The Serbian wasted no time in the final set to take a 3-1 lead and Medvedev fought back to break his first and only serve of the match, but it was not enough against Djokovic, who broke serve again to win the title.
