NEW YORK – A sleepless night at Wimbledon, Daniil Medvedev began to imagine what he would do if he won the sport’s most famous tournament.
The Russian player knew that if he did, he would have to come and celebrate a kind of special celebration, as so many champions from the past have had timeless and iconic reactions on the point of the championship.
“Not celebrating will be too boring, because yes [boring] all the time, ”Medvedev thought.
Medvedev did not win Wimbledon. But here he was on Sunday, in the U.S. Open final, on the verge of ruining history and removing one of the biggest nuisances in tennis by preventing Novak Djokovic from winning the Grand Slam of the calendar and an unprecedented 21st major .
After exploding a 129 mph service winner to open up and win his first Slam, Medvedev took a couple of steps before letting his body weaken, fall over his left shoulder, and stretch there as he pulled out the language.
“I like playing FIFA,” Medvedev said of the popular football video game. It’s called the ‘dead fish’ celebration. If you know your opponent when you play FIFA, you’ll often do so. [to annoy your opponent] … I talked to him [younger] guys in the locker room. They were like, this is legendary [celebrating like that]. “
It is only fitting that after overcoming one of the tennis legends, Medvedev celebrated as a true player. He earned service numbers similar to video games, earning 81% points in his first service and getting 16 aces. He broke only once in 15 service matches against the best player of the match.
Playing in front of a crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium that came to witness the story, Medvedev defeated Djokovic in many ways in his own game. Considered a chess master by his teammates for his way of thinking and playing, Medvedev did something few did to Djokovic: he won the long, annoying and annoying rallies. Medvedev won 18 of the 25 rallies that lasted nine or more shots in the final.
Maybe that’s why Djokovic lost his temper in the fourth game of the second set when he broke his racket three times. Djokovic was upset before the contest that a critical point had to be played after the music was accidentally played right after he had made a deep comeback in a Medvedev service.
The reality, however, was that Djokovic knew that day that he had to take advantage of every opportunity he won. And Medvedev did not give him much.
It’s no surprise that Medvedev seemed to get it all back. That’s what he does. But beating Djokovic over and over again in long grassroots rallies is therefore legendary for someone not called Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
After Djokovic beat German Alexander Zverev, one of Medvedev’s next-generation teammates, in five sets in the semis here, Djokovic said he wanted his opponents to feel the intimidating factor the Serbian player presents during the most important moments of a match. Djokovic had earned that reputation by eliminating so many tight matches and always going up when the pressure was on.
Medvedev, however, was the one who continued to give real-time answers at any time that seemed to change. With a crowd that favored Djokovic, Medvedev continued to offer a great service to calm the fans.
Djokovic hardly played his best tennis, his legs felt the effects not only of five players on Friday night, but also of the growing pressure to do something no one has done since Rod Laver did it in 1969 : win the top four in the same year.
Djokovic was so dominant in the Slams this season that he made everyone forget what it’s like to see him look human. It also made everyone lose sight of how good Medvedev is.
No one has been better on hard courts than Medvedev, who has led the men’s tour in hard track victories (147), final appearances (17) and titles (12) since early 2018. Medvedev was also a finalist in the Open of the United States in 2019, losing in five sets to Christmas.
But the gap that came in on Sunday was as big as his previous Grand Slam final match, when Djokovic crushed Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in the Australian Open final.
“What you achieved this year and throughout your career, I’ve never told anyone, but for me, you’re the best tennis player in history.”
Daniil Medvedev and Novak Djokovic
“I beat him once in straight sets in London,” Medvedev said. “… Maybe he had a bad day [here]. Speaking of Australia, I definitely didn’t play my best there. But then again, people will probably say, “Well, Novak destroyed it.” Whatever.
“He was definitely not at his best. We saw him play better. The question is, if he were, would he be able to [stay with] he? Now we can never know. I’m happy to win. “
While the two men were standing during the presentation of the trophy, Medvedev told the rest of the people and Djokovic something he had never told anyone.
“First I want to say I’m sorry for you and the fans, because we all know what I was going for today,” Medvedev said. “What you achieved this year and throughout your career, I’ve never told anyone, but for me, you’re the best tennis player in history.”
Medvedev has long been considered one of the next great talents in the sport. But before beating Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was the first man born in the 2000s to play in a Grand Slam semifinal, Medvedev joked perhaps that “it’s no longer a next gene.”
Djokovic confirmed that it is not. Medvedev has now arrived with his first Slam.
“The transition was inevitable,” Djokovic said of watching the new stars begin to gain majors after Dominic Thiem won last year. “The older boys are still hanging out. We keep trying to shed light on the world of tennis as much as we can.
“But the new generation, if you want to call them that, is not new. It’s already up to date, it’s already established. Of course, they’ll take over. I think tennis is in good hands.”
Medvedev was able to expertly block the crowd who wanted a Djokovic miracle in the end. But Medvedev had a couple of things on his mind.
Sunday was Medvedev’s birthday with his wife, Daria. Medvedev confessed that he had not bought any gifts and that he almost had to win this final as a gift. With that in the back of his mind and with a rampage unfolding in the final match, Medvedev closed Djokovic and closed the door to history.
All that remained to be done was to execute the “dead fish” movement.
Djokovic did not get his legendary victory, but Medvedev got his unforgettable celebration.
“I hurt a little bit,” Medvedev said as he fell on the hard track. “But I’m glad he made it legendary for me.”