Novak Djokovic claims fourth title in New York
Novak Djokovic beats Daniil Medvedev in the US Open men’s final to match Margaret Court’s all-time record haul of 24 Grand Slam titles He is now two clear of Rafael Nadal’s 22 Grand Slam crowns and four ahead of Roger Federer, who retired on 20 last year
Novak Djokovic made history on Sunday by winning his fourth US Open and record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title with a straight-sets victory against Daniil Medvedev.
For Djokovic, his 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 victory against Medvedev marked his fourth title in New York to become the oldest US Open champion in the Open Era.
The 36-year-old Serbian, who is back to world No 1, won his third Grand Slam title of the year having won the Australian Open and French Open with his only blemish coming in an epic five-set defeat by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.
Djokovic, who wore a tracksuit top adorned with the number 24 and ‘Mamba Forever’ as a tribute to the late NBA star Kobe Bryant, who wore that jersey number, said: “I don’t know where to start, it obviously means the world to me. I’m really living my childhood dream to compete at the highest level in a sport that has given me and my family so much.
“I never imagined I would be standing here talking about 24 Slams. But in the last couple of years I felt I had a chance, a shot at history, so why not grab it?
“I thought of doing this T-shirt, eventually, if I get the chance to win the tournament,” Djokovic continued. “Kobe was a close friend, we chatted a lot about the winner’s mentality.
“When I was struggling with injury he was one of the people I relied on the most. He was always there for any kind of counsel, or advice. I thought 24 was the jersey that he wore when he became a legend of Lakers and world basketball.”
Djokovic walked out onto a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium on Sunday and stared across the net at Medvedev the man once again standing between him and history just as he had two years ago.
The last time the two clashed at the US Open was in 2021 final, when the Russian captured his only major and denied the Serb a rare calendar Grand Slam.
A Medvedev double-fault and a blistering backhand winner down the line gave Djokovic the early break point which he converted to love to subsequently take the first set in a relatively speedy 48 minutes.
The match hinged on a marathon second set lasting 104 minutes, which was longer than both players’ entire first-round matches.
Medvedev, returning a long way behind the baseline, made Djokovic toil and it began to show with the favorite showing signs of fatigue.
After an hour and three quarters he produced his first break point of the match but Djokovic, with an obvious change of game plan in a bid to shorten the points, expertly snuffed it out with a big serve and an immaculate volley.
Medvedev had set point on the Djokovic serve but another volley at the net dealt with that, and when tie-break slipped away from the 27-year-old, the match soon followed.
Medvedev said: “First of all I want to ask Novak what are you still doing here? I mean come on.
“I don’t know when you are planning to slow down a little bit. I feel like I have a good career, I have 20 titles, but you have 24 grand slams. Wow!”