2023-09-11 00:59:08
Novak Djokovic has perfected his 24th title at a tennis Grand Slam tournament. The Serb prevailed on Sunday in a high-class final of the US Open once morest the Russian Daniil Medvedev 6:3,7:6(5),6:3. The 36-year-old, who was number one in the world rankings once more on Monday, drew level in the all-time major rankings with leader Margaret Court, who has also achieved 24 tournament victories in the four highlight events in her career.
Djokovic achieved three of them in the current season, having previously triumphed at the Australian Open and the French Open. Only at Wimbledon did they lose in the final once morest the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller. He was once once more unable to win all four major tournaments in one season. From Monday he will pass Alcaraz and lead the ATP rankings once more; it will be the 390th week in which the oldest US Open champion of all time has been at the top since Sunday.
Djokovic didn’t know where to start during his victory speech. As a child he would actually have been happy with a title at Wimbledon, but his goals got bigger every year. “Making history in this sport is extraordinary and very special. I had a childhood dream and wanted to become the best player in the world. I never imagined standing here and talking regarding 24 Grand Slams,” said Djokovic. All actors in his box, including his family, uniformly wore vests with the inscription 24.
Djokovic set the tone at the beginning and laid the foundation for winning the first set with a break to make it 2-0. There was no rebreak as the Serb responded with four points in a row following a 30-0 deficit. Medvedev was then able to fend off two set points, number three Djokovic scored following 48 minutes to make it 6:3. Medvedev didn’t have a single chance to break.
In the second set, the Russian acted more offensively, more courageously and held up better. At 2:2 and 0:30 he was able to rely on his serve and put it forward once more. Djokovic lost his racket during a rally, and following another rally he was on the ground and looked very weak. Nevertheless, he was able to fend off a break chance twice once morest the fresher-looking Medvedev and escape into the tiebreak following an almost 12-minute game. That Medvedev made the wrong decision at 6:5 and set point and forewent a long-line shot. The place would have been free.
In the tiebreak, both players shone with incredible quality in their shots, a 2:0, 3:1 and 5:4 lead was not enough for Medvedev, Djokovic used his first set point to make it 7:5. He increased his tiebreak win record to 26:5. What was crucial was his incredibly strong record of net attacks; he was able to successfully complete 21 of 23 in the second half. Medvedev took a “medical timeout” and had his left shoulder massaged.
At 1:1 he also slipped and scraped his elbow. Djokovic clearly had the momentum on his side and took his opponent’s serve to make it 3-1. After a quick rebreak, also due to a double fault, Djokovic made it 4-2 once more with another break. Medvedev was able to show another sign of life with four points at 2:5 and 0:30, but Djokovic then served out and used his first match point following 3:16 hours.
Djokovic retained the upper hand for the 10th time in front of numerous Hollywood stars such as Leonardo DiCaprio in the 15th duel with the world number three. In 2021, the Russian prevented Djokovic’s “annual slam” in Flushing Meadows. This time the Serb managed to get revenge. He was able to lift the trophy for the fourth time in New York and in his tenth final participation. He then put on a shirt with the number 24, which had the words “Mamba” on the front and showed Djokovic together with basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in 2020.
Bryant was a very close friend of the tennis star. “He gave me a lot of advice when I was injured and feeling bad. We had a very close relationship,” Djokovic dedicated the tournament victory to the former Lakers star. Medvedev suffered his fourth defeat in his fifth major final. He wasn’t at all upset at the award ceremony; on the contrary, he even joked. “What are you still doing here?” asked the Russian in the direction of Djokovic. “I don’t know when you plan to tone it down a bit.”
He also apologized to his wife for not being able to dedicate a Grand Slam victory to her on their fifth wedding anniversary as in the past – when they won the US Open in 2021. He only had words of praise for Djokovic. “I have 20 titles and I feel like I don’t have a bad career. But you have 24 Grand Slam titles, that’s just wow.” The Serb “pushes” him to constantly improve. As a finalist he received prize money of 1.5 million dollars, Djokovic took home double that.
With 957,387, more than 950,000 spectators came to a Grand Slam event over a three-week period for the first time. This was an eight percent increase compared to 2022.
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