Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in dominant fashion, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, to win the men's singles title at the 2021 US Open. With the win, Medvedev played spoiler to Djokovic's bid to become the first man in 52 years to win all four majors -- the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open -- in the same year, also known as the calendar-year Grand Slam. It is Medvedev's first career Grand Slam singles title.
Djokovic was attempting to become the first man since Rod
Laver in 1969 to complete the Grand Slam. Only five players in the history of
tennis have won all four Grand Slams in a calendar year: Steffi Graf (1988),
Margaret Court (1970), Maureen Connolly (1953), Don Budge (1938) and Laver
(1962, 1969). Serena Williams came close in 2015 but was upset by Roberta Vinci
in the US Open semifinals. Winning all four majors in a single tennis calendar
year is rare and may not come again.
With Sunday's victory, Medvedev also shut down Djokovic's
chance (at least, this season) to overtake his rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael
Nadal, for the all-time men's record of Grand Slam singles titles. Now,
Djokovic will finish out this tennis season still tied with his 'Big Three'
competitors at 20 Grand Slam titles each. Djokovic, the youngest of the 'Big
Three' at 34-years-old, has won eight of his 20 major championships in the last
three years. Both Nadal (35-years-old) and Federer (40-years-old) missed this
year's US Open tournament with injuries. Djokovic, did, however tie Federer for
the most Grand Slam final appearances in history with 31.
"I would like to say, that tonight, even though I have
not won the match, my heart is filled with joy and I'm the happiest man alive
because you guys made me feel very special on the court," Djokovic said
after the loss, fighting back tears. "I've never felt like this in New
York."
Medvedev jumped out to a dominant start in the championship
match. His first and second serves were incredible and the only time Djokovic,
one of the world's best returners, managed to break him came at 5-3 in the
third set. With his impressive hard court speed -- he's arguably the fastest on
tour right now -- Medvedev seemingly got to every ball, which left Djokovic
scrambling to pick up the pieces after a few dropshots Medvedev managed to
reach. Djokovic, perhaps fatigued or stunned by nerves, seemed slow in the
outset of the match. It appeared that Medvedev had done some serious prep after
the pair's last meeting at the Australian Open earlier this year in February
where Djokovic dominated.
"It's the first time I'm so nervous saying my
speech," Medvedev said during the post-match trophy ceremony. "Sorry
for you fans and Novak because we all know what he was going for today."
"For me, you are the greatest tennis player in the
history," Medvedev turned and said to Djokovic.
It turned out to be true that third time's a charm, for the
25-year-old Medvedev at least. Playing in just his third career Grand Slam
final, Medvedev became the first player of his generation to defeat any of the
'Big Three' legends in a Grand Slam final. He's also just the second player
born in the 1990's to win a men's singles Grand Slam title after Dominic Thiem
(born in 1993) defeated Alexander Zverev for the 2020 US Open title.
On the women's side, there are three players born in the
2000's who have already won a women's singles Grand Slam title; Bianca
Andreescu's 2020 US Open title (born in 2000), Iga Świątek's 2020 French Open
(2001) and Emma Raducanu's 2021 US Open (2002). Medvedev and Raducanu became
the first pair of first-time Grand Slam singles champions at the US Open since
Pete Sampras and Gabriela Sabatini in 1990.
Medvedev previously lost to Nadal in the 2019 US Open final
and lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open in February this year. Since that
last meeting in Melbourne, Medvedev took over the world No. 2 ranking and
became the second man other than Djokovic, Nadal, Federer and Andy Murray since
2005 to hold the spot.
Djokovic, for his part, had managed to overcome earlier
threats from the 'Next Gen' players this season, defeating Medvedev in the
Australian Open final, Stefanos Tsitsipas in the French Open final and Matteo
Berrettini in the Wimbledon final but came into trouble when facing Medvedev's
impressive serve in New York this year. It's also worth pointing out that
Medvedev came into this final a bit fresher than Djokovic, benefitting from an
easier draw and only spending 11 hours and 51 minutes on court to reach the
final, compared to Djokovic's 17 hours and 26 minutes.
In a thrilling semifinal match on Thursday, Djokovic outlasted world No. 4 Alexander Zverev of Germany -- who knocked him out of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and at the time, shut down his bid for a Golden Slam -- in five sets to reach the final. That match included a 53-shot rally, the longest of this year's US Open and Djokovic's career. Medvedev, meanwhile, took down Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2, on Thursday to reach the final. The Russian made quick work of his competition all tournament, dropping only one set throughout which makes Medvedev the first man since Nadal in 2010 and second since Ivan Lendl in 1987 to drop only one set en route to a US Open title.