2023 US Open F: Djokovic vs. Medvedev

[Kieran]

Back in the day winning one slam was a big achievement. I do agree with you Daniil is very good at what he does, but not a great player. And you are correct that he did not change the final outcome, but he did far better than ‘pull it together somewhat’.

Novak Djokovic put on one of his most impressive physical and tactical performances to win a 24th Grand Slam title | Tennis.com

The second set—one hour and 44 minutes long—was one of the most hard-fought in Grand Slam final history.

www.tennis.com

He didn’t do much better though, did he? He regained some pride, but he didn’t turn the second set tiebreak into an epic existential battle for survival. He didn’t break serve. He didn’t unnerve Novak or make him have to bash his racket to regain focus.

Takes nothing away from Novak to say this but Danii smiling and joking at the end about Novak playing forever, he was like that with Rafa too. He’s too respectful. They take from him and he smiles. He might win more slams and he’s doing better than the rest of his peers, bar Thiem, but he has such a huge ability, and it’s curious to see him play and wonder which Danii we’ll get..

 

[nehmeth]

Plus, it is sort of a sprint to the end and the #1 ranking. Right now Novak is 675 points ahead in the race rankings, so it isn't a sure thing.

770

Novak Djokovic Takes Lead In Live Race, Boosts Year-end No. 1 Hopes | ATP Tour | Tennis

Novak Djokovic boosted his hopes of securing the year-end No. 1 presented by Pepperstone for a record-extending eighth time when he clinched his 24th major title at the US Open on Sunday.

www.atptour.com

 

[atttomole]

He didn’t do much better though, did he? He regained some pride, but he didn’t turn the second set tiebreak into an epic existential battle for survival. He didn’t break serve. He didn’t unnerve Novak or make him have to bash his racket to regain focus.

Takes nothing away from Novak to say this but Danii smiling and joking at the end about Novak playing forever, he was like that with Rafa too. He’s too respectful. They take from him and he smiles. He might win more slams and he’s doing better than the rest of his peers, bar Thiem, but he has such a huge ability, and it’s curious to see him play and wonder which Danii we’ll get..

Let’s face it. Djokovic was also too good for him. There is a reason why he has 24 slams.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Congratulations to Novak . Job well done.. remarkable how he was able to neutralize Daniil game. The BEST player won and he is the undeniable GOAT for the presence..

 

[don_fabio]

Congratulations to Novak . Job well done.. remarkable how he was able to neutralize Daniil game. The BEST player won and he is the undeniable GOAT for the presence..

His volley game was impeccable last night. I think it made a real difference, he won 84% of points at the net, 37/44, at some stage of the match it was even around 90%.

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

Time for a bold prediction: Ben Shelton will win the 2024 US Open and be ranked higher than Medvedev, Sinner, and Alcaraz at this time next year.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Time for a bold prediction: Ben Shelton will win the 2024 US Open and be ranked higher than Medvedev, Sinner, and Alcaraz at this time next year.

Well you did finally got CoCo prediction correct!

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

Actually, I'm not the only one predicting that Ben Shelton will win the 2024 US Open. Here is ESPN's predicted 2024 slam winners:

Australian Open - Carlos Alcaraz
French Open - Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon - Novak Djokovic
US Open - Ben Shelton

A Nadal comeback? US Open vindication for Sabalenka? We predict the 2024 tennis major winners

The 2023 major season is over, which means it's time to look toward next year. Here are our predictions for tennis' 2024 champions.

www.espn.com

 

[Kieran]

Actually, I'm not the only one predicting that Ben Shelton will win the 2024 US Open. Here is ESPN's predicted 2024 slam winners:

Australian Open - Carlos Alcaraz
French Open - Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon - Novak Djokovic
US Open - Ben Shelton

A Nadal comeback? US Open vindication for Sabalenka? We predict the 2024 tennis major winners

The 2023 major season is over, which means it's time to look toward next year. Here are our predictions for tennis' 2024 champions.

www.espn.com

Well at least they admit it’s recency bias in Ben’s case.

I don’t see Rafa winning Paris - from this distance. He hasn’t been competitively fit since Paris 2022, and maybe even longer than that, so it’s a wild guess that he’ll be back to his best next year - or ever again - and he’ll have to be to win Paris.

Next year will likely be the year of Alcaraz - it just depends on if he learns his lessons well. I expect he will.

 

[the AntiPusher]

His volley game was impeccable last night. I think it made a real difference, he won 84% of points at the net, 37/44, at some stage of the match it was even around 90%.

Something I don't understand. WHY..?? Why did Daniil game was so passive? I refused to believe he was jaded from his match vs Alcaraz...

 

[tented]

 

[atttomole]

Still the same Goran!!

 

[MikeOne]

Actually, I'm not the only one predicting that Ben Shelton will win the 2024 US Open. Here is ESPN's predicted 2024 slam winners:

Australian Open - Carlos Alcaraz
French Open - Rafael Nadal
Wimbledon - Novak Djokovic
US Open - Ben Shelton

A Nadal comeback? US Open vindication for Sabalenka? We predict the 2024 tennis major winners

The 2023 major season is over, which means it's time to look toward next year. Here are our predictions for tennis' 2024 champions.

www.espn.com

At end of 2022, who would’ve predicted novak winning 3 slams and alcaraz wimbledon?

‘24 will be hard to predict. Novak may go in feeling unbeatable and get 3 slams. Carlos may get 3 slams. Novak may finally show his age and go slamless. Players, after watching medvedev beat carlos may challenge him more and figure him out. Sinner may step up and win a slam, rune may step up and get a slam. Tsitispas may finally get a slam after losing in several finals. Zverev can beat anyone and has found his form. Rafa is going to be very unpredictable.

Ben shelton has promise but he will need help from draw. I think players like medvedev and novak will be difficult for him to beat. He is like a tsonga type player, joe had all the promise, he never won a slam. Ben reminds me a lot of tsonga..

 

[MikeOne]

Btw, isn’t good that espn was forced to show the ‘moderna shot of the day’ which involved anti vaxxer novak?

Didn’t know moderna was a big sponsor of USO and they get anti vaxxer winning it. GOLD

 

[El Dude]

At end of 2022, who would’ve predicted novak winning 3 slams and alcaraz wimbledon?

‘24 will be hard to predict. Novak may go in feeling unbeatable and get 3 slams. Carlos may get 3 slams. Novak may finally show his age and go slamless. Players, after watching medvedev beat carlos may challenge him more and figure him out. Sinner may step up and win a slam, rune may step up and get a slam. Tsitispas may finally get a slam after losing in several finals. Zverev can beat anyone and has found his form. Rafa is going to be very unpredictable.

Ben shelton has promise but he will need help from draw. I think players like medvedev and novak will be difficult for him to beat. He is like a tsonga type player, joe had all the promise, he never won a slam. Ben reminds me a lot of tsonga..

In many other eras, Tsonga would have won a Slam. Same with Ferrer, Berdych, Nishikori, maybe Raonic. Those guys got totally shafted by the Big Four being so damn good, and their hegemony was only broken by Marin Cilic playing out of his mind and Stanimal in beast mode.

But yeah, I like the comparison and am not quite all-in on Shelton. Certainly I still like Rune and maybe Sinner's future better, among the really young guys. I also agree that 2024 is difficult to predict. I'm hoping we see a new Slam winner, with the top candidates being Zverev, Sinner, Rune, and then maybe Shelton.

 

[nehmeth]

“He’s always cranky on the court.”

 

[El Dude]

In many other eras, Tsonga would have won a Slam. Same with Ferrer, Berdych, Nishikori, maybe Raonic. Those guys got totally shafted by the Big Four being so damn good, and their hegemony was only broken by Marin Cilic playing out of his mind and Stanimal in beast mode.

But yeah, I like the comparison and am not quite all-in on Shelton. Certainly I still like Rune and maybe Sinner's future better, among the really young guys. I also agree that 2024 is difficult to predict. I'm hoping we see a new Slam winner, with the top candidates being Zverev, Sinner, Rune, and then maybe Shelton.

I will add that I don't think Cilic was a greater player than those other Slamless guys I mentioned. He just channeled greatness for a tournament in a way that those guys never were able to. But in terms of peak level and consistent play, he's basically in the same group. Funny how tennis works that way: Thomas Johansson and Mark Edmondson win Slams, but Tom Okker and Marcelo Rios don't.

 

[PhiEaglesfan712]

I will add that I don't think Cilic was a greater player than those other Slamless guys I mentioned. He just channeled greatness for a tournament in a way that those guys never were able to. But in terms of peak level and consistent play, he's basically in the same group. Funny how tennis works that way: Thomas Johansson and Mark Edmondson win Slams, but Tom Okker and Marcelo Rios don't.

I thought that until his 2017 Wimbledon and 2018 Australian Open runs proved that the 2014 US Open wasn't a fluke. If not for Federer's resurgence, Cilic would have 3 slams like Wawrinka.

 

[El Dude]

I thought that until his 2017 Wimbledon and 2018 Australian Open runs proved that the 2014 US Open wasn't a fluke. If not for Federer's resurgence, Cilic would have 3 slams like Wawrinka.

Umm, maybe. That assumes that Cilic would have beaten whoever was across the net, which shouldn't be assumed. In 2017, it would have been Berdych, Raonic or Dimitrov. In 2018, probably Berdych. Cilic was 6-6 vs Berdych, so maybe we could assume they both won one each. He was 2-2 vs Raonic, 4-3 vs Dimitrov. So basically evenly matched, in terms of H2Hs.

But then you have to consider how many Slams would have been won by Tsonga, Berdych, Ferrer etc, if not for the Big Three.

And of course we can look at peak Elo:
2348 Ferrer
2296 Nishikori
2269 Raonic
2263 Berdych
2244 Tsonga
2232 Cilic
2203 Dimitrov

As you can see, they're pretty tightly packed - except for Ferrer, who had a significantly higher peak Elo. Nishikori is also a bit above the rest, and Dimitrov below.

 

[the AntiPusher]

Umm, maybe. That assumes that Cilic would have beaten whoever was across the net, which shouldn't be assumed. In 2017, it would have been Berdych, Raonic or Dimitrov. In 2018, probably Berdych. Cilic was 6-6 vs Berdych, so maybe we could assume they both won one each. He was 2-2 vs Raonic, 4-3 vs Dimitrov. So basically evenly matched, in terms of H2Hs.

But then you have to consider how many Slams would have been won by Tsonga, Berdych, Ferrer etc, if not for the Big Three.

And of course we can look at peak Elo:
2348 Ferrer
2296 Nishikori
2269 Raonic
2263 Berdych
2244 Tsonga
2232 Cilic
2203 Dimitrov

As you can see, they're pretty tightly packed - except for Ferrer, who had a significantly higher peak Elo. Nishikori is also a bit above the rest, and Dimitrov below.

JowillieTs career reminds of what Ben's career may be.