ovak Djokovic equalled Margaret Court’s record of 24 grand slam singles titles with a masterclass against Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final in New York.
In what was a 10th US Open final for the Serbian, who returns as world No1 on Monday, he pulled off a fourth title in New York and a first since 2018 to become the oldest tournament winner in the Open era.
Since then, he had been defaulted in the tournament and latterly denied entry last year because of his refusal to get a Covid vaccination.
This was a repeat of the 2021 final, which Medvedev had dominated on his wedding anniversary and which ended with Djokovic in tears after receiving the crowd adulation he has so long craved albeit in defeat.
For this final – again on Medvedev’s anniversary, Djokovic had the majority of the support, among them the American actor Matthew McConaughey in his box.
And on court he produced a strategic masterclass, finding a weakness in Medvedev’s decision to receive so deep behind the baseline by serving and volleying more than he had done in any match in New York.
In truth, it was a far closer final than the 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 scoreline suggested but, at the same time, it always felt like the older man had the bettering of his opponent. It also resulted in Djokovic leaving the Big Apple having dropped sets in just one match, the anomaly being his five-setter against countryman Laslo Djere earlier in the week.
Afterwards, Djokovic said: “It means the world to me. I’m really living my childhood dream. To make the history of this sport is something truly special and remarkable. I never imageind I would be here talking about 24 slams.”
Medvedev had proved the disruptor in the previous round, denying the expected Djokovic final against Carlos Alcaraz with such a brilliant semi-final display. Come the final, he couldn’t quite pull off a repeat as his opponent won three of the four grand slams in a calendar year for the fourth time in an illustrious career.
The opening rally of the match lasted 19 shots, indicating the potential slugfest that lay ahead.
Djokovic did well to hold his opening service game but then broke Medvedev to love. Both had stellar records when winning the first set – in the case of Djokovic, he had won 72 of 73 previous US Open matches when taking the opener.
He couldn’t take the first two set points that eventually came his way on the Medvedev serve but duly took the set on his own subsequent service game.
Any sense that Djokovic might run away with it proved unfounded with the players barely able to be separated in the second set.
Medvedev knew, in all reality, he needed to win the second set to have any hope of staying in the match and did well to fend off constant pressure on his own serve.
But the first break opportunity of that set didn’t come until game seven, which proved an odd game. Djokovic stumbled at one point and ended up breathless and prostate on the blue surface, an odd response with the roof closed and the Arthur Ashe Stadium air conditioning on.
Djokovic was clearly tiring and Medvedev did well to lengthen the points as much as possible. Medvedev got his first break point of the night with an overhead smash in the next game before a stunning recovery from Djokovic.
Medvedev again had a break point at 5-6 on his rival’s serve but once more he saved himself with the serve-volley tactic.
In the tiebreak, Medvedev got the mini break only for Djokovic to force his way back in. The set almost seemed to rest on point nine as each player threw everything at each other, going from either end of the court. It resulted in Djokovic’s advantage.
Moments later, Djokovic had won the set thanks to a limp Medvedev backhand into the net with the match clock already at two-and-a-half hours.
Immediately, Medvedev called for the trainer for treatment on his shoulder and painkillers, an issue which clearly bothered him to the end.
His frustration spilled over with a tetchy exchange with his coach, the Frenchman Gilles Cervara, who pleaded with is player to stick to the game plan.
But the Russian was broken in game four only for Djokovic, with victory in his sights, to allow his rival to break back with arguably his worst service game of the night.
Any sense that a comeback might be looming were nullified with a third straight service game break, which allowed the Djokovic camp to dust off their 24 jackets, which were wheeled out moments after the win.
