For Novak Djokovic, tennis is no longer simply about beating the guy on the opposite side of the net. These days, he has other opponents too. Giants of the past. Seemingly unassailable records. His own body, which at 36 years old continues to hold up against significantly younger men. Almost invariably, he overcomes them all.
In Sunday’s US Open final, Djokovic faced Daniil Medvedev, the mercurial Russian who denied him a calendar-year grand slam on the same stage two years ago. History weighed heavily that day – the last man to complete a clean sweep of all four majors was Rod Laver in 1969 – and so there was a score to settle.
Inevitably, though, it wasn’t just about Medvedev. Standing on the shoulders of Bill Tilden, the American great whose all-time record of 10 US Open final appearances he equalled with his semi-final win over Ben Shelton, Djokovic had Margaret Court’s milestone of 24 grand slam titles in his sights. TS Eliot, another great American, would no doubt have appreciated the virtues of a man with an unrivalled gift for melding time present and time past into time future.
Court’s record was also in play at Wimbledon, of course, where Djokovic was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz in an epic five-setter. But he is never oblivious to the lessons of the past and, over the course of a gruelling three hours and 16 minutes against Medvedev, history was once again rewritten, the Serb punishing his rival’s slow start, weathering a monumental second set that pushed him to the brink of exhaustion, then pushing for the line to claim a 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 victory.
“The last time I was here, I lost in the finals against the same player I beat today,” said Djokovic after claiming his fourth title at Flushing Meadows to become the oldest champion since Tilden in 1929.
“I really did my best in the last 48 hours not to allow the importance of the moment and what’s on the line get to my head, because two years ago that’s what happened, and I underperformed and I wasn’t able to be at my best and I was outplayed.
“So I learned my lesson. My team, my family knew that the last 24 hours, don’t touch me, don’t speak to me about the history of what’s on the line. I really did my best to keep things quite simple and stick to the routines that brought me to where I am, and treat this match really as any other match where I just need to win.”
Djokovic has a knack of bending destiny to his will, and his clarity of purpose was palpable as he set about ensuring that his second meeting with Medvedev in New York did not go the same way as the first. Two years ago, the Russian seized the early initiative after a poor start by Djokovic and never looked back. This time, the roles were reversed.
In the opening game, a series of lengthy baseline exchanges set the tone for an evening full of relentless, immaculate ball-striking from both men. But at 30-30 Djokovic had seen enough, firing down a pair of aces. Medvedev, meanwhile, began with a pair of wayward backhands and a double-fault. It was a fleeting but costly lapse. Djokovic broke to love and, with just eight minutes gone, the set was effectively over, Medvedev winning a total of just eight points across his opponent’s next four service games.
Djokovic has lost a US Open final before after winning the opener, Stan Wawrinka memorably prevailing in four sets in 2016. Yet that defeat remains the sole blemish on the Serb’s record after claiming the first set in 73 matches at Flushing Meadows. As Djokovic began the second set by winning three love games in a row on his own serve while consistently threatening his opponent’s delivery, the outlook appeared bleak for the Russian.
Medvedev’s prospects were hardly improved by his own obstinacy. It is no secret that the 27-year-old’s habit of adopting a deep return position leaves him vulnerable to serve-and-volley tactics, a fact that Alcaraz exploited ruthlessly in his victory over Medvedev at Wimbledon. To his deep satisfaction, the Russian applied his trademark return strategy with success in his outstanding semi-final win over the Spanish top seed in New York, but the reality of that match was that Alcaraz simply failed to volley with his customary assurance. Djokovic made no such mistake, ruthlessly exposing the folly of Medvedev’s approach by slicing his serve wide to the deuce court and volleying into the open space. Time and again, Medvedev was unable to make up the required ground.
“I probably should have changed my position, but I had the feeling that it was going to work,” said Medvedev. “I was too stubborn, I should have done differently.”
For all his travails, however, Medvedev began to make inroads. As the rallies became lengthier and more gruelling than ever, Djokovic began to wane physically, even crumpling to the ground after one punishing 31-shot exchange. With the Serb trembling and struggling to breathe, Medvedev began to win most of the longer points. It helped that Djokovic, desperate to shorten the rallies, became over-reliant on drop shots that Medvedev was frequently able to run down.
“I felt like I was losing air on so many occasions, and my legs as well,” said Djokovic. “I don’t recall being so exhausted after rallies as I was in the second set.”
With his opponent labouring, Medvedev earned his first break point of the match. Had he converted it, he would have served for the second set. Instead, Djokovic followed a serve to the net and flicked an outrageous angled half-volley across the face of the net for a winner. Given the magnitude of the moment, it was probably the shot of the tournament. It certainly seemed to revitalise Djokovic, who celebrated exuberantly after holding.
Medvedev’s biggest opportunity was still to come. With Djokovic serving to force a tiebreak, a double-fault threw Medvedev a lifeline that he gratefully accepted, rifling a backhand down the line to bring up set point. Djokovic followed his first serve to the net, but this time he didn’t get quite enough angle on his first volley. Gifted a makeable pass, Medvedev ignored the open space down the line and went straight back at Djokovic, who gratefully slotted away a volley and then turned with a wry smile on his face.
“I should have won it, but sometimes tennis is not that easy,” said Medvedev of a set that eventually got away on a tiebreak. “Passing for sure down the line, not cross[-court], but I had two choices and I chose the wrong one.
“The first and third [sets], he was kind of better and not much to say. Second, if I would win it, maybe it could have been a different game.
“If I wanted to win the match, I had to win the set.”
Emotion poured forth from Djokovic afterwards, first as he knelt on the court and then as he made his way into the stands to celebrate with his family. At 36, he is as good as he has ever been. For the third time in his career, he has reached the final of all four majors; for the fourth time, he has won three slams in the same calendar year. But for a missed drive volley that would have given him a fifth-set break in the Wimbledon final, his fourth US Open crown would also have delivered the grand slam. For the time being, he will have to make do with being the most successful male player in history.
“My goal was always, at the beginning of the season, to try to win all the grand slams,” said Djokovic, who also returns to No 1. “I would definitely sign right away the paper if somebody told me I would win three out of four and play the Wimbledon final.
“There is a little regret that I didn’t win that Wimbledon final. But I have so much more to be happier and content with, than actually to regret something.
“I’m going to keep going… These are the moments, and these are the kind of emotions, that I motivate myself with every single day.”