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Novak Djokovic misses out on calendar Grand Slam as Daniil Medvedev wins US Open

Document Cited in Related
Vincent
Published date13 September 2021
Publication titleWalesOnline (Wales)
By winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles, the world number one gave himself the chance to do what only Don Budge and Rod Laver have ever managed in the men’s game by claiming all four titles in the same year.

To add to the weight of history on his shoulders, victory would also have seen him move clear of his great rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and become the first man ever to win a 21st slam singles title.

He had tried to keep his mind in the present, refusing to answer questions about the Grand Slam after his quarter-final victory over Matteo Berrettini, but it was clear from the first moments of the final that he was battling himself as much as Medvedev.

Crucially, the Russian was good enough to take advantage, securing a 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory in his third slam final to at least strike a real blow for the younger generation against the old guard.

He wobbled in sight of the line, serving consecutive double faults from match point up at 5-2 after being heckled by the pro-Djokovic crowd, but the 25-year-old, who lost to Nadal in five sets in his first final in New York two years ago, composed himself to serve it out at the second time of asking.

The second match point brought another double fault but on the third Djokovic netted, with Medvedev falling to the court in celebration of a deserved victory.

He is just the second man born in the 1990s to win a slam singles title after last year’s champion Dominic Thiem and only the third along with Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka to beat one of the big three in a slam final since Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Federer in New York 12 years ago.

Tennis and Hollywood royalty were in attendance in Arthur Ashe Stadium in anticipation of watching history being made but the tension flowing through Djokovic’s body was all too clear as he dropped serve from 40-15 in the first game.

Medvedev was well beaten by Djokovic in the Australian Open final in February but he showed in the opening set that he was not going to make the same mistakes, throwing in huge second serves and losing just three points on his own delivery.

The crunch moments came early in the second set...

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