Novak Djokovic beats Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final

In the final match of the US Open tennis championship, which ended in New York, Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev in three sets. For the Serbian, who will now top the world rankings, this is already his 24th Grand Slam title. Thus, according to this indicator, he is already two wins ahead of the Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

This final, which was a repeat of the 2021 US Open final in which Daniil Medvedev prevailed in its line-up but not its outcome, was played under a roof. The heat that had been in New York a few days ago had given way to rainy weather, and thus the rivals were in fairly comfortable conditions.

The ending of the first set was determined by its beginning. Having taken the Russian’s serve in the second game, who again, as in the semifinals against Carlos Alcaraz, entered the game rather heavily, Djokovic looked almost flawless and finished the game with the third set point. The Serbian was more aggressive on the back line, and when things got difficult, he put the ball into play in the first square with an oblique serve and ran to the net, where he acted simply perfectly. And this is how the current final differed fundamentally from the meeting two years ago. Then Djokovic was also forced to break the game, but Medvedev, as a rule, punished him for taking risks. Now, instead of adventurism, the Serb’s game featured subtle calculation and perfect execution of technical elements, and the Russian did not find any counter arguments.

The second batch was split into two parts. Until the score was 3:3, Djokovic held his serve very easily, but then he started having big problems with it. Having turned on his signature mode of maximum resistance on the back line, Medvedev began to gain the upper hand more often in long rallies and began to gradually wear down the brilliant Serbian veteran. Djokovic was breathing heavily and showed with all his appearance that it was incredibly difficult for him, but he won back two break points, in the eighth and twelfth games. He did this especially beautifully in the first case, when for the umpteenth time he went to the net from the serve and handled the hardest ball with a half-volley.

And then there was another tiebreaker, scratched out by Djokovic this season in a big fight. Medvedev led – 3:1, with the score 4:4 leaving behind another outstanding marathon rally, at the end of which the stands burst into applause, but the next three points remained with the Serb. The Russian’s mistake when performing a backhand on a set point helped Djokovic achieve a two-game advantage, and catching him in such situations, and even in the final of a Grand Slam tournament, is an absolutely unrealistic task. In the middle of the third set, there were three breaks in a row, and two of them were made by Djokovic, who confidently brought the matter to its logical conclusion. As a result – 6:3, 7:6 (7:5), 6:3 in 3 hours 16 minutes. Having won more points with straight shots (38 versus 32), making fewer unforced errors (35 versus 38) and converting 37 out of 44 attempts at the net, the Serb took full revenge from the Russian for his defeat in the US Open final two years ago. And most importantly, he won his 24th title at the Grand Slam tournaments, now two victories ahead of the Spaniard Rafael Nadal.

Evgeniy Fedyakov