LAHORE MIRROR (AFP) – The victory, his fourth in 10 Flushing Meadows finals, marked another remarkable Grand Slam campaign for Djokovic, including victories at the Australian, French, and US Opens, along with a return to the top of the world rankings when they are updated on Monday.
At 36 years old, the Serbian athlete became the oldest US Open men’s winner in the Open Era and the first to secure three Grand Slam events in a single season for the fourth time.
This win also served as a form of revenge for Djokovic. As the second seed, he walked onto a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday and faced Medvedev, the man once again standing between him and history, just as he did two years ago.
The last time the two clashed at the US Open was in 2021 final, when the Russian captured his only major and denied the Serb a rare calendar Grand Slam.
While Djokovic and Medvedev are intriguing figures, neither has been fully embraced by the New York crowds.
Certainly, there was little of the electricity that crackled through Arthur Ashe during the women’s final on Saturday, with no clear support for either player from an attentive but subdued audience.
As expected in a contest featuring the sport’s two premier hardcourt players, almost every point was contested with long rallies as both men pounded away at each other from the baseline.
Djokovic came out playing with purpose and applied pressure right away breaking the third seed at the first opportunity on way to a 3-0 lead.
That would be the only break Djokovic would need against a surprisingly flat Medvedev who could not manufacture a single break chance in the first set.
During a marathon of one hour and 44 minutes, lung-bursting second set Medvedev would find life forcing a tiring Djokovic into long grinding point, after grinding point.
But the tireless Russian’s hard work would pay no dividends unable to convert any of his few break chances including one at 6-5 that would have given him the set.
Medvedev charged in front 3-1 of the tie-break but again could not land the knockout blow as Djokovic came off the ropes to take it 7-5 and a 2-0 lead.
If there is one thing Djokovic possesses it is a killer instinct and the Serb wasted no time striking breaking Medvedev to go up 3-1 in the third.
A defiant Medvedev answered with his first and only break of the match but it was not enough with Djokovic hitting right back with another break and then holding serve the rest of the way to clinch the title.
