And so the stage is set. Novak Djokovic will duke it out with Daniil Medvedev in Sunday’s US Open final for a fourth title at Flushing Meadows, and a place in history. To get there, he not only had to come from behind for the fourth match in succession, but was also extended to a deciding set for the first time at this year’s tournament. Alexander Zverev presented him with problems no other player has been able to pose so far; Djokovic, as ever, hit upon all the right solutions. He is the man with all the answers. Come Sunday evening, he may also be the man with all the titles.
Nobody in the men’s game has won all four majors in the same calendar year since Rod Laver in 1969. Then again, nobody since has had as complete a game as Djokovic. The Serb stands on the brink of sporting immortality not because he has demolished every obstacle in his path, not because he has blown opponents away with huge hitting or a 140mph serve, but because he has risen to meet each individual challenge on its own terms.
Kei Nishikori and Jenson Brooksby, both of whom won the opening set, sought to take on Djokovic from the baseline. We know how that one ends. Matteo Berrettini adopted a different approach, aiming to dominate with his serve and hammer-like forehand – and so Djokovic simply found his backhand, using it as a base from which to systematically dismantle the rest of the Italian’s game.
Zverev, who thwarted the Serb’s Olympic dream six weeks ago and came into their semi-final on a 16-match winning streak after adding the Cincinnati Masters title to the gold medal he won in Tokyo, did everything Djokovic’s previous three opponents had done and more. He lived with the world No 1 from the baseline. He frequently confounded the world’s best returner with serving of breath-taking speed and accuracy. He refused to let Djokovic steamroller through to victory after falling behind, securing a break early in the fourth set with a rifled forehand winner and defiantly holding on to force a fifth set.
And so Djokovic went to the less heralded weapons in his armoury – drop shots, lobs, sliced backhands – and to the vastly improved serve that has been the mainstay of his brilliance this season. The one thing Zverev could not quite do was match Djokovic for variety, intensity, resilience in the key moments.
A case in point came with the German fourth seed serving to stay in the third set at 4-5. Two gruelling, lengthy baseline exchanges ended with missed forehands by Zverev. Then he framed a third to give Djokovic three set points, and the battle began in earnest. Zverev won a 21-shot rally to save the first. Then came the point of the tournament, an astonishing 53-stroke exchange in which the two men traded baseline blows of superb depth and quality, exploring the geometry of the court in exacting detail before Zverev finally pounded an off forehand for a winner.
It was a moment that would have broken the resolve of almost any other player in the draw. Djokovic simply seemed to say, “Fine, let’s do it again.” And so they did, serving up another 16-shot barnstormer that ended with the Serb dispatching an overhead for a winner and milking the raucous ovation that followed.
“He plays the best tennis when he needs to, which a lot of players don’t,” said Zverev after falling to a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 defeat. “That’s why he’s the world No. 1. He comes up with the best tennis when he needs to. We play 55-shot rallies. The only way for me to win that rally is to hit a forehand winner. That says it all, on a set point.
“There is a reason why he’s won 20 grand slams. There’s a reason why he’s spent the most weeks at world No 1. There’s a lot of reasons for that. I think mentally he’s the best player to ever play the game. Mentally, in the most important moments, I would rather play against anybody else but him.”
Had Zverev been able to maintain the super-human levels he achieved on serve in the opening set, where he landed almost three in every four first deliveries, winning 94% of the points that followed, the outcome would almost certainly have been different. Instead, a 133mph second serve flew long early in Zverev’s opening service game of the decider, and when he netted a weary backhand at 30-30, Djokovic sensed his chance. A 30-stroke rally ensued, concluding with a feathered drop shot that left the scrambling Zverev stranded as the Serb rolled a forehand into the open court. There was to be no way back.
“[It was the] biggest battle I had so far in the tournament,” said Djokovic. “I’m proud of the fight that I delivered. I probably could have played better in some moments. Again, I have to be satisfied with delivering the best tennis I possibly could in the most important set, which was the fifth set.”
On the question of his bid for the 21st major that would take him to the top of the men’s all-time honours list – and complete the grand slam – Djokovic was once again evasive.
“I know we want to talk about history, he said. “I know it’s on the line. I’m aware of it. Of course I’m aware of it. But I’m just trying to lock into what I know works for me. I have my routines, I have my people. I isolate myself. I gather all the necessary energy for the next battle, only the next match.
“I’m going to treat this match as if it’s my last one, because it’s arguably the most important one of my career.”
Medvedev, who saw off Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets in the lower half of the draw, will no doubt feel the same. It promises to be quite a final.