US Open 2023 results: Novak Djokovic wins 24th major by beating Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic draws level with Australian Margaret Court on 24 major singles titles by outlasting Daniil Medvedev in a punishing US Open final.
Novak Djokovic draws level with Australian Margaret Court on 24 major singles titles by outlasting Daniil Medvedev in a punishing US Open final.
There have been 29 different US Open men’s and women’s singles champions since 2000 – can you name them all?
Novak Djokovic won a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title at the US Open – can you name everyone he has beaten in major finals?
Daniil Medvedev has two chief regrets from his US Open final defeat to Novak Djokovic: one that played out over the course of the match and one that came and went within seconds.
Unable to repeat his 2021 US Open final victory against the Serbian, Medvedev said that he paid the price for not altering his deep-court return stance, which Djokovic exploited with 22 serve/volley plays, of which he won all but two.
And he won’t quickly forget his split-second decision when he held set point to level the match to attempt a cross-court pass rather than hit down-the-line for a near-certain winner.
“Oh, regrets, for sure. Should have won it. Should have won it, but sometimes tennis is not that easy,” Medvedev said. “Passing for sure down the line, not cross, but I have two choices and I chose the wrong one. Had I won the second set maybe it could have been a different game.”
Medvedev appeared the fitter player during the exhausting 104-minute second set, when Djokovic did not look like his normal elastic and balanced self. And playing his best tennis of the match, he would have had significant momentum heading into the third had he levelled the match.
“He was tired. He was missing some shots at the end of some long rallies,” Medvedev said of Djokovic, who reclaims the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking Monday, when he will begin his record-extending 390th week at the top. “That’s why it was a pity that I didn’t win the second set because I felt like I was all over him, like I was dominating in a way.”
The former World No. 1 and Nitto ATP Finals champion also took accountability for not moving in closer on return, despite Djokovic exploiting his deep return stance throughout the match, especially with serve/volley plays on key points. After succeeding with his deep-court stance in the semi-finals to claim his first victory in three meetings this year with Carlos Alcaraz, Medvedev said that he had hoped the tactic would work again in the final, but that he wasn’t able to execute.
Djokovic Defeats Medvedev For US Open Title, 24th Major
“Was a little bit stubborn on return. I probably should have changed my position,” he said.
“I tried to change in my mind what I was doing on return, like either going a little bit high or low or line, cross. I just didn’t manage to put the ball in the court many times or to put the ball where I wanted to.
“So that was different [to when I played] Carlos. I managed to be good returning from far, and that’s what I’m good at. I don’t really care too much if the guy is serving and volleying. It makes it a little bit tougher but he has to do it good. Novak first of all does it good, so that’s the first part.
“And then the second part is that I didn’t manage to return well enough, and I don’t want to say because of him. It was more of myself and I should have been less stubborn and gone forward earlier in the match, because I only started doing it a little bit in the third set. But the match was a different story.”
Congratulations on an amazing run, @DaniilMedwed 👏
Thanks for the amazing tennis (and for the laughs 😉)@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/i8zxZyehIS
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 11, 2023
Medvedev is now 55-12 on the season, including a Tour-best 38-6 on hard courts. He has won five titles, including ATP Masters 1000 trophies in Miami and Rome (his first title on clay). Along with Djokovic and Alcaraz, he has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin 12-19 November.
Medvedev has contested five Grand Slam finals, finishing runner-up at the Australian Open in 2021-22 and at the US Open in 2019 and this year. He triumphed at Flushing Meadows in 2021, when he denied Djokovic’s a calendar-year Grand Slam in the title match.
Live by the sword, die by the sword.
Daniil Medvedev gambled on extending baseline rallies into oblivion against Novak Djokovic in the US Open final on Sunday night. He held a set point in the second set, but ultimately came up well short with his master plan.
Novak Djokovic defeated Medvedev 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 by surviving a war of attrition that featured a staggering 54 points in the nine-plus shot rally length. The opening point of the match was 19 shots long, and two points later, they traded a bruising 23-shot rally. Djokovic won them both, and Medvedev’s intentions were crystal clear. It was going to be a battle of legs and lungs.
The rally length for the final was a lactic acid-inducing 6.3 shots. As a comparison, the average rally length was 4.4 shots in Medvedev’s semi-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz. It was just 4.2 shots for Djokovic in his semi-final victory over Ben Shelton. Medvedev averaged running 25 metres per point, while Djokovic was slightly higher at 26 metres per point. Those totals were considerably higher for both players than any of their other matches for the tournament.
Medvedev signaled from the first game that he was going to set up shop deep behind the baseline and would refuse to budge. It is extremely rare to see a match feature more points in rallies of nine or more shots than in five to eight shots, but that is precisely what Medvedev’s dogged game style produced.
Djokovic Defeats Medvedev For US Open Title, 24th Major
Rally Length
The problem for Medvedev was that Djokovic gained a significant edge in the more abundant shorter rallies.
Rally Length – Points Won
In rallies up to nine shots long, Djokovic won 92 points to 68. Medvedev crafted a slim two-point advantage in points of nine or more shots, but that would never carry him to the finish line.
What Djokovic did well was adapt.
It must have felt like playing against a brick wall for the Serbian, so he took his battle to the net to keep points short and make Medvedev have to hit passing shots all evening long.
Serve & Volley Points Won
Net Points Won
It was baffling to see Medvedev fall behind on the scoreboard and not switch up strategies and swarm the net. When Medvedev lost a close five-setter in the 2019 US Open final against Rafael Nadal, he came to the net 74 times, winning 68 per cent of those points (50). He also served and volleyed 29 times, winning 76 per cent (22). Medvedev’s gamble to only come to the net half as much as Djokovic (22-44) and not serve and volley at all never gained traction.
Djokovic’s primary strategy in baseline rallies was to attack Medvedev’s forehand in back-and-forth deuce-court exchanges. It was a smart strategy that has also paid dividends against Medvedev in the past.
Groundstroke Performance
Forehands
Backhands
It was perplexing to watch Medvedev fall further and further behind in baseline points won and not update his game plan.
Baseline Points Won
In the third set, Medvedev only won 27.6 per cent (8/29) of his baseline points as Djokovic finally gained some real momentum. Medvedev only came to the net six times in the third set, winning three.
The final was a brutal baseline battle that took its toll on both players. As we have seen time and time again, it was Djokovic who was the last one standing to collect the silverware.
Novak Djokovic paid tribute to basketball legend Kobe Bryant after securing his 24th major title.
After shaking hands with his opponent, Daniil Medvedev, Djokovic put on a shirt that read ‘Mamba Forever’, with a photo of Djokovic and Bryant.
“I thought of doing this T-shirt eventually if I got the chance to win the tournament. It was about seven days ago. I didn’t share it with anyone until a few days ago when I asked my people to help me out to make this shirt,” Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony. “Kobe was a close, close friend. We chatted a lot about the winner’s mentality when I was struggling with an injury and trying to make my comeback, work my way back to the top of the game.”
Djokovic, who has often spoken about the impact Bryant had on him, explained that the late Los Angeles Laker star was one of the people he relied on the most.
“He was always there for any kind of counsel advice, any kind of support in the most friendly way,” Djokovic said. “So, of course, what happened a few years ago, him and his daughter passing, hurt me deeply and I thought 24 is the jersey that he wore when he became a legend of the Lakers and world basketball. So I thought it could be a nice symbolic thing to to acknowledge him.”
Novak Djokovic extended his ‘Big Titles’ dominance on Sunday when he defeated Daniil Medvedev to win the US Open.
The Serbian star has now claimed 24 Grand Slam trophies, equalling Margaret Court’s record for most major singles crowns in tennis history. Having also won the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year, Djokovic is the first man to win three majors in a season on four occasions (2011, 2015, 2021).
Djokovic Defeats Medvedev For US Open Title, 24th Major
Djokovic continues to build his lead over Rafael Nadal in the ‘Big Titles’ race, now holding 69 such trophies. A ‘Big Title’ is a combination of Grand Slam championships, trophies at the Nitto ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, and Olympic singles gold medals.
The 36-year-old has triumphed at four such events this season, emerging victorious in Melbourne, Paris, Cincinnati and now New York. It is the 11th year in which he has captured at least four ‘Big Titles’.
Djokovic has claimed one ‘Big Title’ for every 3.1 events played (69/216). There is only one other player who has triumphed at a rate of more than one for every four events played: Nadal (3.5).
Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)
| Player | Grand Slams | Nitto ATP Finals’}” style=”color: #1f2223; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; border-top-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>NATPF | 1000s | Total^ (Avg) |
| Novak Djokovic’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>N. Djokovic | 24/72 | 6/15 | 39/126 | 69/216 (3.1) |
| Rafael Nadal’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>R. Nadal | 22/67 | 0/11 | 36/128 | 59/208 (3.5) |
| Roger Federer’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>R. Federer | 20/81 | 6/17 | 28/138 | 54/240 (4.4) |
| Pete Sampras’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>P. Sampras | 14/52 | 5/11 | 11/83 | 30/147 (4.9) |
| Andre Agassi’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>A. Agassi | 8/61 | 1/13 | 17/90 | 27/164 (6.1) |
| Andy Murray’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>A. Murray | 3/59 | 1/8 | 14/116 | 20/184 (9.2) |
| Boris Becker*’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>B. Becker* | 2/26 | 2/6 | 5/51 | 9/84 (9.3) |
| Thomas Muster’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>T. Muster | 1/29 | 0/4 | 8/53 | 9/87 (9.7) |
| Stefan Edberg**’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>S. Edberg** | 3/28 | 0/4 | 4/45 | 7/79 (11.3) |
| Gustavo Kuerten’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>G. Kuerten | 3/33 | 1/3 | 5/67 | 9/105 (11.6) |
| Jim Courier’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>J. Courier | 4/38 | 0/4 | 5/71 | 9/114 (12.6) |
| Marcelo Rios’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>M. Rios | 0/26 | 0/1 | 5/56 | 5/84 (16.8) |
| Marat Safin’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>M. Safin | 2/41 | 0/3 | 5/87 | 7/133 (19) |
| Michael Chang’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #000000; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>M. Chang*** | 0/50 | 0/6 | 7/86 | 7/144 (20.6) |
| Andy Roddick’}” style=”color: #00aeef; padding: 2px 3px; border-bottom-color: #c7c8c8; border-left-color: #000000; border-right-color: #000000; text-align: left;”>A. Roddick | 1/46 | 0/6 | 5/75 | 6/129 (22.5) |
^ Includes Olympic Games gold medals and tournament participations
* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang’s one Grand Slam title came before 1990
Novak Djokovic is two sets from securing his 24th Grand Slam title.
Two years after suffering a stunning upset to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final, the Serbian leads the 27-year-old 6-3 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The last time the pair met at Flushing Meadows, Djokovic was trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors in the same season. On that occasion, he was unable to find his best tennis and a surging Medvedev triumphed in straight sets.
Revenge Or Repeat? Djokovic, Medvedev Set For US Open Final Showdown
Djokovic is in much better form Sunday. He broke serve in his first return game of the match en route to a 3-0 lead and has been locked in from the baseline, where he has played aggressively in rallies to prevent his opponent from settling in.
Medvedev has not played poorly, but the second seed has just been a little bit sharper in gruelling points. The 36-year-old Djokovic is 72-1 at the US Open after winning the first set, with his only loss coming in the 2016 final against Stan Wawrinka.
Two months ago, Djokovic suffered a heartbreaking five-set defeat in the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz. The 23-time major champion has carried an intense demeanour since returning to action in Cincinnati, winning all 11 of his matches following his loss at SW19.
If Djokovic defeats Medvedev, he will pass Alcaraz for first place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. He is trying to secure ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by Pepperstone for a record-extending eighth time.
Medvedev is trying to become the first player to defeat the top two seeds en route to the US Open title since Manuel Orantes in 1975. The Tour’s 2023 leader in hard-court wins (38) upset Alcaraz in four sets in the semi-finals.
Did You Know?
This year’s US Open men’s singles final between Djokovic (36 years) and Medvedev (27) is the oldest in the Open Era at 63 years, nine months. The previous record belonged to the 2022 championship clash between Pete Sampras (31) and Andre Agassi (32).
Great Britain’s Alfie Hewett successfully defends his men’s wheelchair title at the US Open against compatriot and doubles partner Gordon Reid.
Roger Federer and Andy Roddick headlined the list of ATP stars who congratulated Coco Gauff on social media following her US Open victory.
Others who sent the American well wishes were her coach, Brad Gilbert, Rod Laver and longtime friend Christopher Eubanks.
“Inspirational win @CocoGauff 🎉,” Federer wrote. “Been watching your 🎾and following you for years. It’s great to see so much hard work and passion being rewarded. You shine brighter than ever. 🌟”
Espresso, Jolly Ranchers & 5 A.M. Walks: Brad Gilbert’s US Open
Inspirational win @CocoGauff 🎉,
Been watching your 🎾 and following you for years. It’s great to see so much hard work and passion being rewarded.
You shine brighter than ever🌟#TEAM8 pic.twitter.com/BmtEnOz9O0— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) September 10, 2023
.. @bgtennisnation @CocoGauff Just epic. Couldn’t be happier for BG and Coco ! pic.twitter.com/7gopdp43pA
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) September 10, 2023
the champion @CocoGauff what a amazing journey this summer, your 1st @usopen 💪👍👊👍😎 pic.twitter.com/TtF91USVHp
— Brad Gilbert (@bgtennisnation) September 9, 2023
Congratulations on breaking the ice at the US Open @CocoGauff. Winning your first major at home is special. You kept calm and withstood the pressure with maturity and purpose, the sign of a great champion. Enjoy the moment! 🚀
— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) September 9, 2023
No one more deserving than you! Congratulations Champ 🏆😭 @CocoGauff pic.twitter.com/f4lqyjkdr3
— Christopher Eubanks (@chris_eubanks96) September 9, 2023
What a moment @CocoGauff Congratulations on an amazing performance and you are a true champion on and off the court. You make the sport proud
— James Blake (@JRBlake) September 9, 2023
Huge congratulations @CocoGauff on your @usopen championship. Everyone in Delray Beach is so proud! Your first of many majors to come 🙌 #USOpen pic.twitter.com/v8MA8957Nv
— Kevin Anderson (@KAndersonATP) September 10, 2023
Congrats to @CocoGauff ….true champion in every way….
Super pumped for her and her team and @bgtennisnation …. pic.twitter.com/YEVIdmnRMV
— Patrick McEnroe (@PatrickMcEnroe) September 10, 2023
