There has been a whole lot of failure amongst the younger generation in their attempts to stop the Big 3 of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Rafael Nadal from racking up 60 Grand Slams–20 each.
Daniil Medvedev is all too familiar with those shortcomings. He came close to denying Nadal a fourth U.S. Open title in 2019, while he didn’t come close at all against Djokovic in the Australian Open final earlier this season.
On Sunday afternoon, Medvedev was once again the last man standing between one of the Big 3 and history.
And what history it would have been. Djokovic was going for the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men’s singles since 1969 (Rod Laver) while also looking to break a tie with Federer and Nadal atop the all-time men’s singles slam titles list. Although the GOAT debate is subjective, success on Sunday would have all but slammed the door on that question in Djokovic’s favor.
Instead, Medvedev denied–or at least delayed–all of that. The world No. 2 finally got over the hump and created history of his own, capturing a major title for the first time by upsetting Djokovic in surprisingly decisive 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 fashion.
It may end up marking a momentous occasion for an entire generation of younger players (not necessarily young, but younger than Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal). That remains to be seen, but what is certain is that it’s a milestone moment for Medvedev. And it’s one that had been a long time coming, too.
Although still just 25 years old, the Russian had seemingly been next in line to become the next first-time slam champion since his epic loss to Nadal in the 2019 final at Flushing Meadows. But it was Dominic Thiem who broke through last summer in New York, defeating Medvedev in the semis and Alexander Zverev in the championship match. Despite being ranked No. 2 in the world for much of this season, Medvedev fell woefully short against Djokovic at Melbourne Park (7-5, 6-2, 6-2), struggled as usual on clay, and was upset by Hubert Hurkacz in a five-set Wimbledon quarterfinal. Contemporaries Stefanos Tsitsipas and Matteo Berrettini came closer to Grand Slam glory than he did though the first seven months of 2021.
Still, it felt like only a matter of time before the next rising-star breakthrough would come from Medvedev. He set himself up perfectly to do so at this U.S. Open by rolling to the Toronto Masters table. For the final, specifically, the stars could not have been more aligned after Medvedev pretty much made mincemeat out of his first six opponents whereas Djokovic struggled mightily–at least by the Serb’s lofty standards.
To say that Medvedev capitalized on the opportunity would be a gross understatement.
He broke Djokovic right away, dominated from there en route to a 6-4, 6-4, 5-1 lead, and ended up winning in just two hours and 15 minutes. The second seed’s only hiccup came when he double-faulted on championship point at 5-2 and got broken for the first time all day–in part because of an overly enthused crowd that was trying to inspire a Djokovic comeback. On his second time of asking, however, Medvedev delivered a clutch hold to get across the finish line.
“He did so well,” Djokovic praised. “I mean, he was amazing. Just congratulate him, full credit from his mentality, his approach, his game; everything. He absolutely was the better player and deserved to win, no doubt about it.
“Of course I’m disappointed with the overall game that I performed today. I know I could have and should have done better. But it’s sport, you know. You win some, you lose some. It’s a tough loss; very tough loss. But at the same time I’m happy for him because he’s a nice guy and he deserves it. He really does.”
Medvedev did especially well to turn in such a strong performance even with the fans on Djokovic’s side, as they were itching to catch a glimpse of history.
“I want to thank you guys,” Medvedev told the crowd. “Today maybe you were a little bit more for Novak, but that’s completely understandable. Throughout the week you gave me a lot of energy, starting from 2019, long ago. It helped me ’til today. It was not easy, but thanks a lot.”
Amazing! Congrats to Meddy, condolences to Djoker (and RC, sorry dear), who seemed to take it calmly judging from the video here. I haven’t seen the match, at least not yet. Maybe tomorrow I’ll watch some of it. Or maybe I’ll just watch Gill Gross’ recap of it on YouTube. He knows more about tennis than I do!
As for the poll, I expect Djokovic to collect #21 at the AO ’22. If Rafa manages to get his foot back in working order I expect him to get his #21 at RG. Big if, but Vamos Rafa!
Thank you, Ramara it was a sad performance but it truly was the best he could do in that final. He said his legs were gone. I believe him, those five sets v Zverev were just too much for him to come back and take on Meddy.
I love Medvedev and hope he wins many more GS’s but he is not too good on grass or clay. His game is perfect for the US Open. Congrats to Medvedev! He is my favorite of the younger guys.
The WTA stole the show with teenagers Emma Raducanu and Leylah Fernandez.
I don’t expect novak to win ao 22. He has never won 4 in a row there , its stopped at 3 .
Rafa I can’t predict till we see how he heals n comes back
Such a wonderful match. I wish luckystar was here to congratulate meddy coz I know he’s one of her favorites from the next gen. The next gen have finally lived up to their hype.
Did anybody see meddy’s dead fish celebration immediately he won. That was iconic! Right from fifa football play station. I was laughing so hard. The guy is just hilariously unpredictable.
By the way since no one wants to mention it, the crowd’s behavior towards him in that 3rd set especially when he was serving for the championship at 5-2 was disgusting and so terrible and I’m glad that even the commentators were appalled. Booing Medvedev, rejoicing at his mistakes and esp heckling when he was at championship point causing him to serve a double fault was horrible imho and this caused Djoko to break for the first time in the whole match and push it to 5-4. If not, it would have been 6-2. Fortunately, he was able to serve out the second time. Thank Goodness.
Honestly I was not expecting med to even win a set especially with how Djokovic has been talking about he will play it as the last match of his career nonsense and with the next gen having been atrocious beyond belief whenever facing Djoko in slams especially in finals (eg tsitsipas embarrassing performance at the French open final). But my goodness, med had other plans and delivered it spectacularly. His serve, movement, drop shots, volleys, fluidity around the court and his ground strokes were rock solid. He came prepared and executed his game plan to perfection. I wish Cheryl will write another one of her exquisite articles about this great achievement by med. He deserves it.
Congrats Meddy. That was a majestic performance.
Yep, congrats to Medvedev on a spectacular performance. A very intelligent 6’6″ guy who serves his height but moves like he’s 5’9″is a very tough opponent, even for Novak.
I do think this year is finally the turning point for the big 3. Really, just for Djokovic and Nadal; Fed’s last chance was probably two years ago.
Well played Medvedev. Hope your time has come. Like it when so many “experts” are proved so wrong!
Commies to Djokovich fans, but age catches up with us all in the end, even elite athletes.
Will repeat my wish that all these greats end up with 20. A fitting end to their amazing rivalry that has enthralled us for so many years.
Time for the rising stars to rise.
Congrats to Meddy! I didn’t watch the match but learnt of the results hours later. I was expecting Djoko to win and made history, well that’s not to be. I felt a bit sorry for Djoko, but as he himself said it, ‘this is sports – you win some you lose some’.
Meddy played well this whole USO, so he really was/is the deserved winner. Well done to Meddy, and condolences to Djoko and his fans.
I kept my thoughts to myself for this USO. I believe that Scoot Dimon did predict Meddy to win. So good for him!
But I did think Meddy was the only one with a shot. Zverev wasn’t going to do it at a slam. He made it a battle. But Meddy pushed Rafa to the limit two years ago. He’s only gotten better and he looked very sharp throughout the tournament.
It is not easy to beat Novak at a slam. But Meddy was ready for the challenge. I just don’t wish to hear anymore about injuries or pain meds or this drama about Novak struggling. He is getting older like Rafa and Fed. But if you can play in all four slams, win three of them and get to the final of the fourth, then you obviously are okay to play.
I am missing Rafa terribly. Reading about his foot condition makes me realize how he has had to deal with this throughout his career. There is no surgery to fix it. We know now that he was having problems with it for a while. It most likely cost him RG. And the rest of the year. Playing so little during the pandemic still did not prevent him from having problems with the foot.
I would like him to have one last hurrah. But we just don’t know. I think it’s a miracle that he managed to have the career he did with this kind of rare condition.
No predictions from me about next year. Too far away at this point.
It was very nice of Meddy bear to call Novak the greatest tennis player in history.
True, and Zverev said the same after the their Olympics match. I wonder if the NextGen would be saying that though if they got a taste of Federer in 2005 or Nadal at RG in 2008.
We won’t ever know the answer to that but it was very nice of them to compliment him.
Um, doesn’t it boil down to “I beat the greatest!”?
Look at his presser. He said he said it as novak was behind him and he will never say it again . He was just being kind. He also said his statement may sound disrespectful to the other 2.
One of the greatest of all time but repeat and serial offender in unsportsmanlike behaviour. In this aspect he is the sureshot GOAT of all.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indiatimes.com/amp/sports/us-open-final-unsportsmanlike-djokovic-fined-for-smashing-racquet-on-court-549355.html
Yeah, I saw the incident when I watched my recording of the match. That ball kid was scared of him! I guess Djoker has a bit of a rep among court personnel. Don’t think a 10K fine will do much do get him to learn some self control. 🙁
Djokovic has a strong sense of where a match is at in terms of his prospects which has been pivotal to his success over the years. As he said himself, he grew up living with wolves which IMO was a reference to this ability. It was only 2:1 in the 2nd set, but he knew his chances of winning the match were as good as over, hence the smashing of the racquet.
Time after time after time, Djokovic got away with his opponent relaxing after winning the first set but this time he ran into an opponent that was relaxed and willing to sustain his level for the duration of the match.
Medvedev is a genuine number 1 or 2 in the world; make no mistake about it. He’s head and shoulders above the rest of the tour when he’s playing well and part of that top group of players of the past two decades.
Djokovic has to be at his absolute best to beat Medvedev when he’s playing well.
I honestly believe if Rafa had made the final he would at least take a set from Meddy!!! As much as Novak is a great player and all, one thing that has always been lacking in his game is his ability to solve pickles! He had absolutely NO answers to Meddy’s game. I mean watching Novak attempt to serve and volley was so painful. Rafa and Roger would have found a way regardless of how well Meddy was playing! A straight set route like that was just sort of pitiful!
Djoko could hardly keep a ball in court judging by his UE count and missing routine trademark backhands. It was mostly mental more than what Med was doing good though it was. Or maybe Nadal is just better on hardcourts than Nole…
Personally I think it was mental the Womens final was so amazing that it was such a hard act to follow and as a result Nole got off to a bad start and never recovered.
Al ..he self inflicted lot of pressure on himself ,don’t you think ? If it’s such an important match, why say I’ll play as if it’s my last match..and put my head ,heart ,body ,soul all in it that too to the entire world. As great as sounding confident is, at times it can backfire…sometimes being understated helps.
You think if rafa n fed were in novaks position , they will make that statement..fed will say – let’s see how it goes abd rafa – very tough match ,will try my best
I interpreted the statement “I’m going to treat this like the last match of my life” as a bit spiteful, to be honest. Endorsing Tsitsipas’ consistent exploitation of the toilet break was an insult to the intelligence of the public, as well.
As we all know, Djokovic has a well-documented history of interrupting play at critical moments of a match which is lethal when combined with a more stable technique that relies on his opponents missing. You effectively had to beat him twice to win a major.
I welcome anyone to dig out some old videos of this happening to refresh people’s memories. On one occasion, Djokovic seemed like he broke a leg or ankle at the AO but miraculously played on as if he’d just done six months of rehab. IMO, there were at least 6-8 grand slams that Djokovic won where his opponent capitulated from a winning position after interruption of play.
“from a commanding position due to interruption of play.”
So, whenever one indulges in the GOAT argument or encourages others to pander to a player, they should keep all of this in perspective.
+1 to this .not sure if it’s 6-8 slams but I clearly rem – ao 13( pretended to be dead which Murray called out), ao 20( pretended to have no energy in third n thiem fell for it), ao 21 is well documented – ab tear and won a slam( phantom injury ), toilet very long break in rg 21(4th round n final both 2 sets down ) , wimby 18 ( insisted sf to be played under roof when play resumed next day though it was bright sunshine. He would have surely lost that match without the roof, even with roof which is worst for rafa ,he barely won)
Yeah so it’s 5 slams wherw clear gamesmanship was indulged in…the facts n videos are for all to see, not my assumptions
The reason I don’t support him is namely this – outright gamesmanship …esp the wimby 18 sf I can never forgive him..he robbed that slam from rafa by insisting play under roof though it was within rules. If fed was in that place ,I am sure would not have insisted roof ..
Medvedev almost lost that match.
I know, I know he dominated and was the better player. But…that last game of maybe the most important game he won in his career so far. If he lost that, Djokovic probably would have stolen the whole match.
Anyway, good solid play by Medveded. He denied a Novak who played well enough to win against 99% of the field on that night.
Which match did you watch eugene ? Djoko played well ? He was clueless on court and so many unforced errors . He neither served well. That performance would not have cut against most of top 10
I’m not so sure about that; Medvedev won that match because he was out playing Djokovic across the court. Even if he lost that service game it was probably only a matter of time before the balance titled back in favour of Medvedev again. This was not a match where Djokovic was going to make one of his trademark comebacks; the competition was simply too stiff on this occasion.
Sorry this was in response to Eugene, not you Sanju.
Sanju, I think Medvedev won because he was simply amazing. Djokovic has been invincible because his opponents just can’t keep a high level constantly. He met a guy who was confident, relaxed and served very well.
I still think Tsitsi or Zverev would have lost that final, or any other top10 guy according to their current form. I am not talking about Nadal when he’s on fire. Current form. So, it’s fair to think what would have happened against Tsitsipas or Zverev.These 2 are good, but they have that respect for Djoko that would make thinks complicated for them. Med won because he rallied well and won hin service games quite easily , sometimes very easy. Do you see Zverev doing that with his double faults and even Tsitsi’s own serves are vulnerable.
Novak doesn’t feel comfortable being dominated and bullied. He usually does that. Now, who would have been able to do that other than Med on that evening?