US OPEN
Djokovic-Medvedev U.S. Open final could be spellbinding affair
Novak Djokovic against Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open men’s final may not have been the showdown fans were dreaming of but it could still bring the Grand Slam season to a spellbinding conclusion on Sunday.
For weeks the tennis world was buzzing about seeing the red hot rivalry between Djokovic and holder Carlos Alcaraz in the Flushing Meadows final until Medvedev played the spoiler with a brilliant 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 semi-final win over the Spaniard.
But what a final between former U.S. Open champion Medvedev and three-time winner Djokovic may lack in pizzazz it more than makes up for in pure quality with the world’s two best hard court players going toe-to-toe at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The contest also comes with some spicy sub plots as Djokovic hunts a fourth U.S. Open that would see him equal Margaret Court’s record haul of 24 Grand Slams and, along with it, a good measure of revenge against Medvedev.
On Sunday the Serb will look across the net at the same man standing between him and history as he did two years ago.
The last time Djokovic and Medvedev clashed at the U.S. Open was in the 2021 final, when the Russian captured his only major so far and denied the Serb a rare calendar Grand Slam.
It is a loss Djokovic has not forgotten and has learned from.
“Every time in a Grand Slam final it’s another shot for history and I’m aware of it,” said Djokovic, who will reclaim top spot in the world rankings on Monday.
“I don’t have much time nor do I allow myself to reflect on these things or think about the history too much.
“When I did that in the past, like, ’21 finals (against Medvedev) here I was maybe overwhelmed with the occasion and the opportunity and I underperformed.
“I don’t want this to happen again.”
EARLIER TESTS
Medvedev and Djokovic have both been tested en route to the final.
Second seed Djokovic, 36, fought back from two sets down to beat fellow Serb Laslo Djere in the third round but did not drop another set on the way to his 10th U.S. Open final.
Medvedev has spent much of time working the graveyard shift at Flushing Meadows with several of his matches starting late in the evening one day and finishing in the next.
The third seed’s toughest physical test came in the quarter-finals when he beat his daughter’s godfather Andrey Rublev in straight sets in brutal heat and humidity.
Medvedev said he had to raise his level to 12 out of 10 in the semi-finals to dethrone Alcaraz and would need to do the same or better against Djokovic.
“He (Djokovic) is always better than the previous time he plays,” said 27-year-old Medvedev, who will be appearing in his third U.S. Open final, having also lost to Rafa Nadal in 2019.
“Novak is going to be his best version on Sunday and I have to be the best-ever version of myself if I want to try to beat him.
“Novak, when he loses, he’s never the same after. He’s different. So I have to use it knowing that he’s going to be 10 times better than he was that day.
“And I have to be, if I want to still beat him, 10 times better than I was that day.”
While Djokovic and Medvedev are compelling figures, neither has been fully embraced by the New York crowds they have so desperately courted.
Not long ago Medvedev was Flushing Meadows’ public enemy number one for his on court antics that included giving the crowd the finger during a 2019 match.
Over the years Djokovic has had a love/hate relationship with New Yorkers that reached a low point during a 2020 match when he in a fit of frustration he inadvertently hit a line judge in the throat with a ball and was disqualified.
“At the end of the day, they buy tickets to come watch you play,” said Djokovic. “So we try to put on a show and perform for them so they go back home satisfied.”
-Reuters
Naomi Osaka says 2024 is her “learning year” after coming back to the tour from a maternity break and the former world number one is trying to figure out how to better cope with the setbacks after being given a crash course in early Grand Slam exits.
Osaka has four major titles under her belt but the second round at Flushing Meadows, Wimbledon and Roland Garros was as good as it got this year for the Japanese 26-year-old, who exited the Australian Open in the first round.
On Thursday she lost 6-3 7-6(5) to Karolina Muchova, unable to get to grips with the Czech’s superb serve-and-volley tennis.
“It’s a little rough because I do take these losses really personally. It’s like a dramatic word, but I feel like my heart dies every time I lose,” she said.
“I’ve been trying to be more mature and learn and talk more about them.”
Osaka has been a champion for mental health in sport as she publicly struggled with the pressure to succeed, telling reporters in Flushing in 2021 that she no longer felt joy – only relief – when she won.
She has a new perspective now, she says, but is having to deal with frequent disappointments after packing her schedule since returning to the tour in January after 15 months away.
“It’s been a little difficult because obviously I can only gauge how I’m doing by results. Like, I feel faster. I feel better, but I lost in the second round. So it’s a little rough,” she told reporters.
“But, also, it’s been fun playing a lot of tournaments. It’s been a commitment for sure, but I’ve been able to go to different cities that I’ve never been to.”
She lost in the second round of qualifying in Cincinnati but gave glimpses of her brilliance in New York as she handed 10th seed Jelena Ostapenko a straight-sets defeat in the first round.
“This year for me has been a learning year. I put a lot of energy and effort into all the tournaments that I played,” she said. “Obviously the U.S. Open is very special to me.”
-Reuters
Novak Djokovic said he remains eager to continue making history as he begins his U.S. Open title defence only three weeks after winning a coveted gold medal at the Paris Games to cement his status as the greatest tennis player in history.
Djokovic aims to win a record 25th Grand Slam and become the first U.S. Open champion to successfully defend his title since Swiss great Roger Federer in 2008.
The 37-year-old said he was looking forward to playing his first match of the tournament on Monday against Radu Albot under the lights of the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“The goal is always for me to try to go all the way to the finals and fight for the trophy. That kind of mindset is no different for me this year,” Djokovic told a news conference on Saturday.
“People ask me ‘now that you have won everything with the golden medal, what else is there to win?’ I still feel the drive. I still have the competitive spirit. I still want to make more history and enjoy myself on the tour.
“The US Open holds the biggest tennis court in the world. Night sessions here are very famous. I’m going to play my first match on Monday night, I can’t wait to be under the lights. The noise, the energy of the stadium is just different. I look forward to it.”
Other than his Paris Games triumph, Djokovic has claimed no other titles in 2024, losing to younger players such as Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals and Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.
The last time Djokovic played all four majors in a season without winning one was 14 years ago. Yet the Serb looked like he was in fine form at the Olympics, beating French Open champion Alcaraz in the final.
Djokovic claims to be motivated to keep pushing himself forward through his rivalries with younger players.
“These kind of rivalries that I have with Jannik and Carlos are the kind of matchups that still bring that joy of competition to me and inspire me to really push myself to perfect the game,” he added.
-Reuters
Former champions Naomi Osaka, Bianca Andreescu and Stan Wawrinka have received singles main draw wildcards into the U.S. Open, the United States Tennis Association said on Wednesday.
Japan’s Osaka, who counts the 2018 and 2020 U.S. Opens among her four Grand Slam titles, returned to competition in January after the birth of her daughter and has advanced to the third round or better at four WTA 1000 events this season.
Canada’s Andreescu, the 2019 U.S. Open champion, returned to action this year after missing nine months due to a back injury and reached the French Open third round in her first event back.
For Swiss Wawrinka, who won the most recent of his three Grand Slam titles at the 2016 U.S. Open, the wildcard allows him to make his 72nd main draw appearance in one of the game’s four blue-riband events, which puts him fifth on the all-time list.
Austrian Dominic Thiem, the 2020 U.S. Open champion who announced this year that he will retire following the 2024 season due to a wrist injury, was also given a wildcard.
The U.S. Open will held from Aug. 26-Sept. 8 in New York
-Reuters
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