Novak Djokovic on Sunday defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win his fourth US Open and a record-equaling 24th Grand Slam singles title, cementing his claim as the greatest tennis player in history.
The 36-year-old Djokovic won 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 to become the oldest men’s champion in New York in the Open era and match Margaret Court’s all-time mark for most Grand Slam victories.
“I don’t know where to start. It obviously means the world to me,” said Djokovic, wearing a white jacket with the number 24 on his chest during the trophy presentation.
Photo: AFP
“It’s hard to describe. I’m really living my childhood dream to compete at the highest level in this sport. I never imagined I would be standing talking about 24 Grand Slams, but the last couple of years I’ve felt I have a chance and I have a shot at history and why not grab it.”
The Serbian is the first man to win three Grand Slam events in the same season four times, crowning his impending return to world No. 1 in the most fitting of ways inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The victory added to his wins at the Australian and French opens earlier this year, with the only blemish his five-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the final of Wimbledon in July.
Photo: AFP
“You know, some people who are born, he’s a genius. He’s one of kind. Not too many people in this world like him in sport-wise,” Djokovic’s coach, Goran Ivanisevic, said. “This is one of the biggest achievement in the sport history.”
Medvedev suffered his fourth loss in five Grand Slam finals, all of which were against Djokovic or Rafael Nadal.
“First of all I want to ask Novak: What are you still doing here? Come on,” Medvedev joked.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“I don’t know when you are planning to slow down a little bit,” he said. “I mean, 24. I feel like I have not a bad career and I have 20 titles. You have 24 Grand Slams. Wow.”
At Louis Armstrong Stadium, Diede de Groot won her 12th straight Grand Slam wheelchair singles title, beating Yui Kamiji 6-2, 6-2 in the women’s final.
The Dutch star completed her third straight calendar-year Grand Slam, including a Golden Slam in 2021, when she also won the Paralympic gold medal. De Groot has won six straight US Open titles and 20 major singles titles overall — not that she keeps count.
“I’d like to really not worry about it too much, because then you’re going to start to think about, ‘Oh, I want to reach this or I want to reach that,’” she said. “I really just want to focus on my game, and that’s what I did today. So that’s what I’m really proud of, but I think just being this consistent is what I’m really proud of, being able to do it multiple times in the year.”
At the Kinoshita Group Japan Open in Osaka, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Chinese partner Zhu Lin yesterday crashed out of the round of 16, losing 6-3, 6-3 to Natela Dzalamidze of Georgia and Sofya Sansere of Russia.
Additional reporting by staff writer, with AP
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