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Social Media Reacts To Medvedev’s US Open Triumph

  • Posted: Sep 13, 2021

Daniil Medvedev created history in his own right with a convincing straight-sets triumph over top seed Novak Djokovic for his maiden Grand Slam trophy at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday night.

The Russian thwarted the World No. 1’s bid for the Grand Slam at the final hurdle in two hours and 17 minutes. The legend Djokovic sought to emulate, Rod Laver, led tributes, with fellow US Open champions Juan Martin del Potro and Dominic Thiem also quick to offer their congratulations.

ATPTour.com looks at some of the best tweets about Medvedev’s triumph over Djokovic.

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#NextGenATP Cerundolo Makes Argentine History With Third Challenger Title

  • Posted: Sep 13, 2021

Juan Manuel Cerundolo knew it would be a tough decision, but the 19-year-old understood that it was for the best. The surging #NextGenATP star had the opportunity to make his US Open qualifying debut last month, but opted to forego the hard-court major as he remained in Europe and continued building his game on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Safe to say, the decision paid dividends. Cerundolo went back-to-back on the clay of Como, Italy and Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina, claiming his second and third Challenger titles of the year. The Argentine sealed the remarkable run with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Nikola Milojevic in Sunday’s Srpska Open championship. He reeled off eight sets won in a row to capture the crown in Banja Luka.

The teenager is making noise on the court with his determined play and dogged defence, and he will earn a significant reward in the FedEx ATP Rankings for his efforts. Cerundolo is poised to rise 27 spots to a career-high No. 108 on Monday. He and brother Francisco Cerundolo (No. 104) are both knocking on the door of the Top 100.

Moreover, his title treble has him in elite company in Argentine tennis history. At the age of 19 years and nine months, Cerundolo became the third-youngest player from his country to win three Challenger titles. Only Juan Martin del Potro and Guillermo Coria were younger when they lifted their third trophies.

Cerundolo, who also secured his maiden ATP Tour title in Cordoba in February, is up to seventh position in the ATP Race To Milan. The teen will look to secure his place at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals in the coming months.

Youngest Argentines To Win Three Challenger Titles

Player Age Third Title
Juan Martin del Potro 17 years, 10 months 2006 Segovia
Guillermo Coria 18 years, 10 months 2000 Montevideo
Juan Manuel Cerundolo 19 years, 9 months 2021 Banja Luka
Guillermo Canas 19 years, 10 months 1997 Santiago

In other action… Benjamin Bonzi is unstoppable on the ATP Challenger Tour. The Frenchman added a fifth title of the year on Sunday in Cassis, completing a dominant run that has seen him go back-to-back on home soil at the St. Tropez Open and Cassis Open Provence. In fact, he extended his Challenger win streak to 15 straight, having also lifted the trophy in Segovia, Spain, last month.

One of the newest members of the Top 100 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Bonzi is putting it all together in 2021. He joined the exclusive club on 2 August and is projected to rise to a career-high No. 76 on Monday.

How impressive is the 25-year-old’s achievement? He is the first player to win five Challenger titles in a season since Filip Krajinovic in 2017. The single-season record is six. He is also just the second Frenchman to achieve the feat, following in the footsteps of Adrian Mannarino (2014).

Bonzi

This week, the prestigious Copa Sevilla celebrated its 30th anniversary on the ATP Challenger Tour. For the 16th time, one of its native sons lifted the trophy. Pedro Martinez captured his third career title, streaking to victory on home soil with a 6-4, 6-1 win over countryman Roberto Carballes Baena. The World No. 75 was coming off a first match win at the US Open, rallying from two sets down to defeat James Duckworth.

At the inaugural NO Open in Tulln, Austria, it was Mats Moraing claiming his second title of the year. The German dominated Hugo Gaston 6-2, 6-1 in just 46 minutes on Saturday. The final finished just three minutes shy of the record for shortest title match in ATP Challenger history. Moraing, who rallied from a set down twice during the week, rises 49 spots to No. 193.

At the inaugural Kyiv Open, the Italian-Argentine sensation Franco Agamenone carried his jaw-dropping run of form to a second title. Agamenone entered the month of August without a match win in his ATP Challenger career, but, at the age of 28, he is proving that it’s never too late to break through. The Argentine-born Italian has since reeled off 11 wins from 12 matches, adding titles in Prague and Kyiv. From outside the Top 600 at the start of the year, he is projected to rise to a career-high No. 230 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday.

ATP Challenger Tour 


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Medvedev Explains 'Dead Fish Celebration'

  • Posted: Sep 13, 2021

Just how any player reacts to winning a Grand Slam title depends largely on a spur-of-the-moment emotion. The crowd and how the match is won usually play a significant part.

But the reaction upon sealing a first major championship is often a little more preconceived. In Daniil Medvedev’s case, he decided it was time to ditch his typically low-key celebration on match point if he defeated top seed Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s US Open final. When he did so, it became a chance to imitate a celebration featured in one of his great off-court passions – the soccer PlayStation game FIFA.

The 25-year-old gave some indication his “dead fish” post-match celebration was a gaming reference when in his on-court acceptance speech he addressed the move. “Only legends will understand. What I did after the match was L2 + left,” Medvedev said.

Later in his post-match press conference, the Russian said the idea first arose during his run to the fourth round at Wimbledon this year. “When I was running through [the draw at] Wimbledon… I was really confident about my game. I think it was one night, you know, you cannot fall asleep. Five, 10 minutes you have crazy thoughts, like every other person,” he said.

“I was like, OK, if I’m going to win Wimbledon, imagine I win it against Novak or whatever. To not celebrate is going to be too boring, because I do it all the time. I need to do something, but I want to make it special.

“I like to play FIFA. I like to play PlayStation. It’s called the dead fish celebration. If you know your opponent when you play FIFA, many times you’re going to do this. You’re going to score a goal, you’re up 5-0, you do this one.

“Yeah, I talked to the guys in the locker [room], they’re young guys, super chill guys. They play FIFA. They were like, ‘That’s legendary’. Everybody who I saw who plays FIFA thinks that’s legendary. That’s how I wanted to make it… It’s not easy to make it on hard courts. I got hurt a little bit, but I’m happy I made it legendary for myself.”

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Medvedev: ‘You Never Know If You’re Going to Achieve It’

  • Posted: Sep 13, 2021

Third time round in a Grand Slam final, Daniil Medvedev knew there was more on the line in this outing before a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium in Sunday night’s US Open final.

Each maiden major title opportunity missed only compounds the pressure the next time a final rolls around. Only this time, he knew the burden of expectation was far greater on his opponent with such a historic achievement at stake.

Djokovic stood one match from completing the Grand Slam. The last time the pair had squared off at a major championship, the Serbian had breezed past Medvedev in straight sets in this year’s Australian Open final.

Third time round, Medvedev was up to the task. Two years after his five-set defeat in his first Grand Slam final against Rafael Nadal, the second seed denied Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

“You never know if you’re going to achieve it in your career. Again I was always saying, ‘If I don’t, I just want to know that I did my best to do it’,” Medvedev said. “That’s my first Grand Slam. I don’t know how I’m going to feel if I win a second one or third one. That’s my first one, so I’m really happy.

“It means a lot to me… After winning in Canada, I knew I had Cincinnati next to try to prepare well for US Open, so I couldn’t even celebrate in a way. I needed to get on the plane and get ready for my first round.

“Here I know I don’t have anything coming soon… so I know how to celebrate. Russians know how to celebrate (smiling). Hopefully I will not get in the news. If I [do], it’s going to be in a good way. But I’m going to definitely celebrate the next few days.”

Medvedev trailed his ATP Head2Head against Djokovic 3-5 but had claimed a straight-sets result in the Nitto ATP Finals last year. He admitted the preparations ahead of a Djokovic showdown were unlike those for any other opponent.

“We always talk tactics before the match with my coach, the day before. Usually takes five, 10 minutes, some small things. Probably where I’m going to serve, what I’m going to do during the points,” Medvedev said.

“When it’s against Novak, it took like probably 30 minutes. Why? Because … he’s so good that every match is different. He changes his tactics, he changes his approach… Was he at his best? Maybe not today.

“He had a lot of pressure. I had a lot of pressure, too… I knew I cannot give him easy serves because that’s what he likes. So that was the plan. Because of the confidence in a lot of tight moments, I managed to do it well.”

Medvedev became the first man since Rafael Nadal in 2010 and the second since Ivan Lendl in 1987 to drop just one set en route to the US Open title. He became the ninth different US Open men’s singles champion in the past 14 years and the fifth in the period to land their first at Flushing Meadows after Juan Martin del Potro, Andy Murray, Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem.

The 26-year-old said he would have felt just as elated regardless of who he had beaten for his first Grand Slam title. But to do it against the World No. 1, who stood to emulate Rod Laver’s Grand Slam from 1969, was not lost on him.

“I do feel sorry for Novak because I cannot imagine what he feels. I don’t know this feeling. It definitely makes it sweeter I mean, a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam,” Medvedev said.

“For the confidence and for my future career, knowing that I beat somebody who was 27-0 in a year in Grand Slams, I lost to him in Australia, he was going for huge history, and knowing that I managed to stop him, it definitely makes it sweeter. It brings me confidence for what is to come on hard courts so far, but let’s see about other surfaces.”

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Cervara On The 'Fire' Medvedev Needed Against Djokovic

  • Posted: Sep 13, 2021

Gilles Cervara said late this week of his charge, Daniil Medvedev, that “adversity makes him find the best in himself”.

That proved prescient late in Sunday’s US Open final against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The second seed led the Serbian legend by two sets and two breaks in the third set when he double-faulted on his first championship point at 5-2. Djokovic managed to retrieve a break in that game and hold to force the Russian to sit for a changeover and ponder the moment as the raucous Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd tried to will the top seed back into the match.

Medvedev bent, but he did not break. In the next game, the 25-year-old held to triumph 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 and lift his first major trophy.

“This moment was very tough… After the match, he just told me that he was cramping a bit with the pressure,” Cervara said. “When you lose the first break, you feel that something will be tougher at this moment, and you need to find the resources on the next service game to serve much better, that he didn’t do at this moment.

“He found a big game from baseline to be able to beat Novak.”

It was a big mental effort from a player who was trying to avoid an 0-3 record in major finals. Earlier this year, in the Australian Open championship match, Djokovic beat him in straight sets.

“After the final in Australia, we had the feeling that Daniil didn’t have this fire that can help your game to be much stronger, especially against a player like Novak. This had to change for sure to play this final at another level,” Cervara said. “Our feeling yesterday and today was that he was ready to compete and be at a high level.”

That was not all Team Medvedev was focussed on during this clash, though. Aware that Djokovic is great at adjusting his tactics, Cervara had a game plan for his player.

“In the game we had couple of strategies, especially sometimes to play more down the middle, to not open so much angle and to run a lot,” Cervara said. “Of course, it’s easy to say there is not a magic thing. You have to play at your best, to have quality in your shots, also to know that strategy can change during the match because Novak will adapt during the match. You have to feel when you need to do something different.

“He had a couple strategies in his head to be ready for different situations. Of course, to serve good was one of the keys. He served very good today.”

Daniil Medvedev
Photo Credit: Pete Staples/USTA
Cervara felt that Medvedev’s serve “was not good enough” at the Tokyo Olympics, where the Russian lost against eventual bronze medallist Pablo Carreno Busta. Soon thereafter, that shot became their focus.

“He won because his level on serve was very high. That’s what he needs to do. We took more time to work on this shot. Every day I got my goals in my practices to make him be at his best level on serve,” Cervara said. “With Daniil, when you work something at the good moment, on the good goal, then it works straightaway. We felt it straightaway in Toronto that the serve increased so much.”

Medvedev lost his serve just once against one of the greatest returners in tennis history on Sunday at Flushing Meadows, and set the tone by winning all 15 of his first-serve points in the first set. What made the victory even more special is that the Russian stopped his opponent from becoming the first man to complete the Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969.

“To beat Novak, first of all, in a Grand Slam, it’s a big thing,” Cervara said. “Then [to do it] in a final, it’s another big thing. I guess and I wish that it will make him be at another level.”

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Djokovic On 'The Reason I Just Teared Up'

  • Posted: Sep 13, 2021

Novak Djokovic’s bid for history as the first man to complete the Grand Slam in 52 years is over.

Tears were to be expected – win or lose – as the weight finally lifted. The World No. 1 had come up one victory shy of equalling Rod Laver’s feat, beaten in Sunday’s US Open final by a red-hot Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Since his 2015 Wimbledon triumph Djokovic had won 12 of his past 14 Grand Slam singles finals, losing only to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros last year and Stan Wawrinka at Flushing Meadows in 2016. The chance to pull clear of his Big Three rivals with a 21st major championship would have to wait.

Despite the bitter disappointment, there was relief the pursuit of the Grand Slam had ended. There was also high praise for his conqueror and gratitude to the crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“Of course, part of me is very sad. It’s a tough one to swallow, this loss, I mean, considering everything that was on the line,” Djokovic said. “But on the other hand I felt something I never felt in my life here in New York. The crowd made me [feel] very special. They pleasantly surprised me.

“The amount of support and energy and love I got from the crowd was something that I’ll remember forever. That’s the reason on the changeover I just teared up. The emotion, the energy was so strong. It’s as strong as winning 21 Grand Slams. That’s how I felt, honestly. I felt very, very special.”

Victory over Medvedev in the Australian Open final in February had set the wheels in motion and when success followed at his toughest Slam, against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Roland Garros final, the chase was on. A sixth Wimbledon trophy kept the dream alive and while Alexander Zverev brought hopes of a Golden Slam to a halt in Tokyo, slowly but surely Djokovic closed in on the final Sunday in New York.

Nerves would invariably come into play for Medvedev as he attempted to serve for his first major championship and Djokovic stepped up. He saved a match point on the Russian’s serve and pegged back one of the breaks – his first of the match – to stay alive.

He would need his seventh career comeback from two sets down – his second this year after the Roland Garros final. There was a grin to the crowd and a tap of the heart as Djokovic roused the crowd and closed to within a game of levelling the third set but any comeback was quickly snuffed out after two hours and 17 minutes.

“Full credit [to] his mentality, his approach, his game, everything. He absolutely was the better player and deserved to win, no doubt about it,” Djokovic said. “Of course I’m disappointed with the overall game that I performed today. I know I could have and should have done better.

“But it’s sport. You win some, you lose some. It’s a tough loss, very tough loss. But at the same time I’m happy for him because he’s a nice guy and he deserves it. He really does.”

Djokovic had spent five hours and 35 minutes longer on court than his opponent. He had gone five sets with Zverev in the semi-finals and four sets in four of his five previous matches, but his exhaustion was not merely physical.

“I had more hours on the court spent [than] Daniil, that’s for sure. But it was also emotionally a very demanding period for me in the last five, six months – Slams and Olympics and playing at home in Belgrade.

“Everything was coming together for me here and kind of accumulating all the emotions that I’ve been through… Of course, I was short today for another slam title, but I have to be proud with everything that my team and I have achieved.

“And in tennis we learn very quickly how to turn the next page. Very soon there are some more challenges, more things that are coming up. I have learned to overcome these kind of tough losses in the finals of Slams, the ones that hurt the most… I still love this sport and I still feel good on the court. As long as there is motivation and that flare, I’ll keep riding.”

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Medvedev Stuns Djokovic For US Open Title

  • Posted: Sep 13, 2021

Daniil Medvedev made history and spoiled it simultaneously on Sunday, winning his first major title with a stunning 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory against Novak Djokovic in the US Open final, which prevented the World No. 1 from completing the Grand Slam.

The Serbian star was trying to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors in one season and break a tie with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most major titles in history (20 each). But Medvedev played calm, patient tennis to become the third Russian man to earn Slam glory, joining Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.

“You never know if you’re going to achieve [winning a major] in your career. I was always saying if I don’t, I just want to know that I did my best to do it,” Medvedev said. “[I feel] a lot of happiness. That’s my first Grand Slam. I don’t know how I’m going to feel if I win a second one or third one. That’s my first one, so I’m really happy. Means a lot to me.” 

After his semi-final win against Felix Auger-Aliassime, Medvedev vowed to take the fight to Djokovic in the final. “No matter the score, I’m just going to turn up the heat,” he said. And he delivered as promised.

Djokovic appeared frustrated and flummoxed throughout what he said on Friday is, “arguably the most important one of my career, maybe”. After letting slip opportunities to break his opponent’s serve in his first two return games of the second set – including after leading 0/40 in his first return game – the Serbian obliterated his racquet. He never recovered. 

Medvedev made his first major final two years ago at the US Open on the same court inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. On that occasion, the Russian suffered a heartbreaking five-set defeat against Nadal. But this time, Medvedev controlled the match from the first game and earned the biggest win of his career after two hours and 15 minutes.

“First of all I want to say sorry for you fans and Novak. We all know what he was going for today,” Medvedev said during the trophy ceremony. “I’ve never said this anybody, but I will say it right now. For me, you are the greatest tennis player in history.”

The 25-year-old double-faulted on his first championship point at 5-2 in the third set and lost serve for the first time in the match later in the game. The crowd got raucous to urge Djokovic back into the match from there, and Medvedev double-faulted again on his next match point. But the 13-time tour-level titlist, who admitted to cramping at 5-3, successfully served out the match at the second time of asking, falling to the court after Djokovic missed a backhand return into the net.

“It was definitely tough. [I] cannot say [it any] other way. I knew that the only thing I can do is focus,” Medvedev said. “[You] never know what would happen if it would be 5-All, if I would start to get crazy or whatever. It didn’t happen, so again we cannot talk about it. I knew I have to focus on myself, on what I had to do to win the match.”

Match Stats – Djokovic vs Medvedev

 Stat  Novak Djokovic  Daniil Medvedev
 1st-Serve Pts Won  80% (40/50)  80% (41/51)
 2nd-Serve Pts Won  40% (17/42)  58% (22/38)
 Break Pts Saved  50% (4/8)  83% (5/6)
 Break Pts Converted  17% (1/6)  50% (4/8)
 Net Pts Won  66% (31/47)  50% (6/12)
 Winners  27  38
 Unforced Errors  38  31

From 28 major matches this year, Djokovic lost the first set 11 times, including in five consecutive matches from the third round at Flushing Meadows. But this time he was unable to conjure a magical comeback to complete his historic run. During the final changeover, the Serbian cried into his towel as the moment hit him.

“I would like to say that tonight, even though I have not won the match, my heart is filled with joy and I’m the happiest man alive because you guys made me feel very special,” Djokovic told the crowd. “You guys touched my soul. I’ve never felt like this in New York… I love you guys. Thank you so much for the support and everything you have done tonight for me. I love you and I’ll see you soon.”

Djokovic got off to a slow start in the first game of the match, missing consecutive forehands wide to give the World No. 2 an immediate service break. That was all Medvedev needed to speed through the opener in 36 minutes, during which he put on an impressive serving display.

The recent Toronto titlist, who has won 15 of his past 16 matches, saw 59 per cent of his serves go unreturned by Djokovic in the first set. That set the tone for the rest of the match. The Serbian began to find his range from the baseline later in the set, but was unable to bother the Russian, who won all 15 of his first-serve points in the opener.

Daniil Medvedev
Photo Credit: Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Djokovic looked to quickly seize the momentum at the start of the second set, putting more returns in play to take a 0/40 advantage. The 85-time tour-level titlist was unable to convert though, missing a neutral backhand slice into the net on his last opportunity of the game.

The Serbian earned two more chances in his next return game. But Medvedev showed no fear, hitting a massive backhand down the line off his back foot to save one and crushing a big serve to save the other, leading to Djokovic’s racquet smash.

Medvedev embraced the pressure of the moment throughout the match. The reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion played stout defence with great depth to force Djokovic to rush his offence. The top seed frequented the net far more often, while Medvedev was content to answer the questions Djokovic asked on court.

Before the match began, large groups of Serbian fans stood outside of Arthur Ashe Stadium chanting “Nole! Nole, Nole, Nole! Nole! Nole!” That pro-Djokovic support carried into the stadium as the fans gave the three-time US Open winner a noticeably louder ovation.

But Medvedev did not shy away from the environment, trying to rally them to his side as the match wore on. There were plenty of celebrities, from the likes of Alec Baldwin, Bradley Cooper, Spike Lee and Brad Pitt to sports stars Henrik Lundqvist, Andy Roddick Kim Clijsters and Laver. But Medvedev prevented them from witnessing the first Grand Slam by a man in 52 years.

Did You Know?
Medvedev lost just one set en route to his US Open title. The Russian leads all players on the ATP Tour since 2018 in hard-court titles (12), finals (17) and wins (147). 

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