2023-09-10 11:46:08
Djokovic (36 years old) is playing to enter history from the widest possible range, as winning the American title will allow him to raise the number of his Grand Slam titles to 24 and equal the absolute record for the men’s and women’s categories held by Australian Margaret Court.
Djokovic is also seeking to become the oldest player to be crowned at Flushing Meadows in the modern era, by defeating Medvedev, who is 27 years old.
But just like what happened two years ago, Russian Medvedev stands in the Serbian’s way following he was prevented from winning the Grand Slam title in the same year for the first time in the history of the yellow ball since Australian Rod Laver in 1969.
This loss in 2021 constituted one of the most shocking defeats in the record-breaking career of Djokovic, following he was only three sets away from the coronation in New York.
Djokovic, who lost 4-6, 4-6, 4-6, later admitted that “I was overwhelmed by emotions,” and he even cried on the court during the period of changing sides at the end of the match, so he was unable to impose his superiority over Medvedev.
But this time, as he once once more competes in the four major finals this year without being in the race to win all the Grand Slam tournaments, he will try to put himself in another state of mind, by not thinking too much regarding the possibility of winning.
-no thinking-
Djokovic confirms, “Every time I play a Grand Slam final, I realize that it is an opportunity to write a page in the history of tennis, and I am proud of that. But I do not have the time, and I refrain from thinking too much regarding the historical aspect.”
Translating Dioko’s words, he believed that he would equal the absolute record of Australian Court in July in the last edition of the Wimbledon Championship, the third Grand Slam, during his first duel in the Grand Slam final with the young Spanish man, Carlos Alcarras.
Djokovic recalls when he reached the final without having lost in the tournament held on grass courts since his fall in the quarter-finals in 2017, “I was very close to winning the 24th title in London, but I lost a close final match in five sets to a player stronger than me.” .
In Flushing Meadows, he will face Medvedev, who stripped Alkaras of his title by defeating him in the semi-finals, reminding everyone how strong he is on hard courts, which is his favorite surface.
Medvedev will go into the final with the best record on these courts this year and even in the past five years, as he achieved 38 victories in 2023 (4 titles in Rotterdam, Doha, Dubai and Miami), and since 2018 he is the winningest player with 18 titles, including the US Open. 2021, while he reached 28 finals, including Flushing Meadows 2021 and 2023, in addition to the Australian Open 2021 and 2022, and won 234 matches.
-“dangerous situation”-
Medvedev, along with Alkaras, is considered the last person to beat Djokovic in a Grand Slam final, but despite this, the Russian feels very cautious, well aware of the danger of his Serbian opponent, who will compete in the tenth American final of his career, equaling the record set by Bill Tilden, and the thirty-sixth final. In one of the Grand Slam tournaments, it is a new record, 5 final matches ahead of the legend Roger Federer.
“Every time, he is stronger than in the previous match. In 2021, I beat him at the US Open and in the next match he beat me in Bercy. He lost at Wimbledon to Alcarras and then beat him in Cincinnati,” Medvedev said.
He continued, “I will face the best version of Novak and I must be at a level I have never reached before if I want to try to beat him.”
Djokovic and Medvedev have faced off 14 times, while the numbers favor the 9-time Serbian, so tactically, both players know what to expect.
“We both know roughly what needs to be done,” the Russian asserts, “but it’s always the same, you know what needs to be done, but now you have to be able to achieve it.”
For his part, his French coach, Gilles Cervara, believes that it will be above all a psychological issue. He says, “You have to put yourself once more in a position of danger and uncertainty that puts you at the top of the best. The danger lies in believing that we have an advantage and know how to do it.”
He concluded by saying, “No, no, no. We don’t know how to do it! Against Alcarras, it was a great match, a great win, but it was just a semi-final. We need to win the final!”
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