Novak Djokovic tells the story of his childhood dream frequently. As a seven-year-old, he wanted to win Wimbledon. Little did that young boy know that he would accomplish much, much more.

When the Serbian eventually embarked on his professional career, Pete Sampras’ men’s singles record of 14 major titles loomed large. Djokovic’s chief rivals, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal loomed even larger.

After winning his fourth US Open trophy on Sunday by defeating Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, Djokovic now owns 24 Slam crowns and shows no signs of slowing down.

“To be honest with you, I was probably not thinking so intensely and concretely about the history of the weeks at No. 1 or most Slams until maybe three years ago,” said Djokovic, who on Monday begins a record-extending 390th week atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. “Then I realised, ‘Okay, I’m quite close for weeks in No. 1. I also have a pretty good chance at the Grand Slams if I keep healthy and if I’m playing well.’
Of course the Slams at that point seemed a little bit less reachable than weeks of No. 1, but I believed. I believed that I’ll make it.

“I don’t put any number right now in my mind on how many Slams I want to win until the end of my career. I don’t really have any number.”

Djokovic has won a record 12 majors after turning 30, and seven of the past 10 Grand Slam tournaments he has played. For someone who once thought winning one Wimbledon title was a lofty goal, why put a limit on what he could achieve?

One of Djokovic’s only stumbles over the past few years came in the US Open final two years ago against Medvedev, the same player he defeated Sunday. Attempting to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to claim all four majors in the same year, the Serbian faltered and lost in straight sets, playing far from his best tennis.

“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,” Djokovic said. “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.”

Novak Djokovic counts four US Open titles from 10 finals among his 24 major trophies.” />
^{Photo: Getty Images}
Djokovic did just that. The match was far closer than the 6-3, 7-6(5), 6-3 scoreline, though. Medvedev’s strategy of dragging out points seemed to pay dividends halfway into the second set, when the eventual champion began showing signs of fatigue.

“I don’t think I have ever played a longer set in my life, particularly not on this occasion against a top player like Daniil,” Djokovic said. “I think he was probably a better player in the second set. He deserved to win that set more than I did. Somehow I managed to turn things around in the tie-break. When it mattered I put one ball into play more than he did. And that was enough.”

Djokovic added: “Honestly, in the second I felt like I was losing air on so many occasions, and my legs, as well. I don’t recall being so exhausted after rallies really as I have been in the second set.”

One of Djokovic’s big wishes was to be competing for and winning major trophies when his kids were old enough to understand the magnitude of such an accomplishment. His son, Stefan and daughter, Tara, were both in the crowd. As the pivotal second set neared the two-hour mark, Djokovic found motivation in seeing his daughter courtside.

“She was facing me when I was sitting on the bench. And she smiled at me. Every single time I needed, I guess that kind of innocent child energy, I got it from her. When I was going through the very stressful moments, particularly in the second set when I needed a little bit of a push of strength, of just lightness, I guess, she gave me a smile, a fist pump,” Djokovic said. “She was into it. It’s so funny to see that and so interesting to see that she’s six years old, my son is nine, and they were both there. They’re both aware of what’s happening.”

Once Djokovic earned a two-set lead, he found his legs again and surged to the finish line inside Arthur Ashe Stadium. For the fourth time in his career, Djokovic claimed three majors in a single season. He came just one match short — losing a five-set thriller in the Wimbledon final — of completing the Grand Slam.

“These are the moments and these are the kind of emotions that I motivate myself with every single day when I’m not playing a tournament. Yeah, occasionally [I am] asking myself, ‘Why do I need this still at this stage after all I have done? How long do I want to keep going?’” Djokovic said. “I do have these questions in my head, of course. But knowing that I play at such a high level still and I win the biggest tournaments in this sport, I don’t want to get rid of this sport or I don’t want to leave this sport if I’m still at the top, if I’m still playing the way I’m playing.”

Djokovic’s goal at the start of the season was to try to win all four majors, but he said he would have signed for winning three of four and reaching the Wimbledon final. The problem for the rest of the ATP Tour is that the 36-year-old shows no signs of slowing down. 

“Eventually one day I will leave tennis in about 23, 24 years. And there is going to be new young players coming up,” Djokovic said, cracking a smile. “Until then, I guess you’ll see me a bit more.”

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.

“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.

Rally Length

• 0-4 Shots =53% (113)
• 5-8 Shots = 22% (47)
• 9+ Shots = 25% (54)

The problem for Medvedev was that Djokovic gained a significant edge in the more abundant shorter rallies.

Rally Length – Points Won

• 0-4 Shots: Djokovic 63/Medvedev 50
• 5-8 Shots: Djokovic 29/Medvedev 18
• 9+ Shots: Djokovic 26/Medvedev 28

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

• Djokovic = 20/22
• Medvedev = 0/0

Net Points Won

• Djokovic = 37/44
• Medvedev = 16/22

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

• Djokovic: 9 winners/28 errors = -19
• Medvedev: 10 winners/40 errors = -30

Backhands

• Djokovic: 6 winners/29 errors = -23
• Medvedev: 5 winners/32 errors = -27

It was perplexing to watch Medvedev fall further and further behind in baseline points won and not update his game plan.

Baseline Points Won

• Djokovic = 48.8% (59/121)
• Medvedev = 38.0% (52/137)

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 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 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)

^ 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.

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).