The gigantic shadow of
Daniil Medvedev
spoiled the party for
Novak Djokovic
, called to star in New York on the most beautiful night in tennis history. Flawless from start to finish, the Russian gave no choice to the world number 1, who was poised to become the third player capable of winning the Big Four in the same season, 52 years after
Rod Laver
achieved it for the second time
. and get his 21st
major
, one more than
Roger Federer
and
Rafael Nadal
. Medvedev won 6-4, 6-4 and 6-4, in two hours and 15 minutes, to win the US Open, his first Grand Slam title.
Projected by the efficiency with the service, the Russian built a fort at the bottom of the track, an insurmountable frontier for his rival, absolutely blocked. Much awaited
Nole
and even he, distinguished for facing maximum pressure situations like few others, felt the responsibility of a challenge of stratospheric dimensions. The story continues and he will still litigate in that fight to end his career as the man with the most Grand Slam titles, but he will hardly be able to create the circumstances to square all four in the same season.
If at Roland Garros he found solutions and arrests to lift two sets in the final against
Stefanos Tsitsipas
, this time he could not against a player unrelated to any concession, determined to capture his first big in his third final of this range.
He had lost in New York to Nadal in 2019 and to his rival yesterday at the last Australian Open, but this time the victory would be yours.
Just nerves in the epilogue
Medvedev committed two double faults on his first two match balls, going 5-3 in the third.
Djokovic broke, who cried in his chair before returning to the court.
He double-faulted the third on the next turn of service, puzzled by the boos from one part of the stands, but he would no longer miss in the fourth.
His first set was impeccable, in line with the entire match. He took advantage of Djokovic's doubts in the opening game and broke him by coming back from 40-15. From there, he held his own serve with a clear effectiveness: he won 15 points with the first and only left three when he had to go to the second.
No him
paid dearly for his carelessness.
Unbreakable at the back of the court, Medvedev barely allowed winning shots from the Belgrade player, who sought alternative paths by going to the net. The world number 1 had 0-40 in the second game of the second set, the opportunity he had been looking for, but they escaped between his own error and the determination of his opponent. Chances began to unfold for Djokovic, who enjoyed two more in the third game. Once frustrated, after sending a rest out, he smashed the racket on the ground and was penalized with a
warning
.
It would be the Russian who would break again in the fifth game, leaving with the utmost conviction towards victory. Few times has Djokovic been seen so unarmed, with no hint of being able to return to the game. The third set was the culmination of his crash. Medvedev accelerated the breakout with a double
break
, without ceasing to cheer up with his fist raised, demanding the complicity of an audience eager to attend an exceptional evening, astonished at what was happening.
Huge merit of his, from the role of antihero that he had played.
It had 12 titles, four of them Masters 1000, the most recent a few weeks ago in Toronto.
Now, at the age of 25, the number two in the ranking already has a well-deserved Grand Slam, after destroying the world number 1 as no one expected at night where he hoped to establish himself as the best of all time.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
sports
tennis
Novak Djokovic
Rafael Nadal
US Open
Roland Garros
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