US Open Final: Djokovic vs. Medvedev

[MargaretMcAleer]

Good one Margarat. Certainly agree. To be fair to N.D. he struggled all tournament long to play and sustain his best.

What about our man Dylan Alcott in wheel chair tennis achieving the Golden Slam...

 

[Vince Evert]

After longuish absence from this forum, I've heard the news Medvedev has stopped Joker at the very last moment in US Open final! What a celebration! Danil is my hero! So I stopped by guys, to express my happiness and gratitude to the Russian player who otherwise is a minor character (still better than Joker) but today he's a hero because he stopped the devil.
In the absence of Fed/Nad and the continued annoying presence of a one who does not deserve to share their status, I lost interest watching tennis. Today I finally got a ray of hope that a new generation of players can finally overcome and subdue that annoying player. And I'm not the only one annoyed by said player. A poll conducted among tennis fans in my country, puts GOAT order as:
Roger Federer 81%
Novak Djokovic 10%
Rafael Nadal 9%
I'm surprised Nad is so low, but the difference Fed-Joker could be even bigger, when considering overall package on and off court achievements.

US Open 2021 LIVE: Medvedev wins first major, stops Djokovic’s shot at elusive grand slam

Daniil Medvedev has stunned Novak Djokovic, winning the US Open final in straight sets, ending the Serbians’s shot at history. The world No.1 was aiming complete the grand slam, by winning the full set - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open - in a calendar year.

www.smh.com.au

Welcome back. Yes Danill has come of age.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

It depends on Danill and if he has COME OF AGE. Let's face it, he has cruised in the Open and has age on his side. He may well have discovered the game has to be played more "between the ears" . Will be interested to see how he progress next year. I agree (sadly) with you regarding Federer.

I think on hard courts sure, but the other surfaces, I would still give the edge to Novak. Australian Open will be interesting now that Novak doesn’t have so much on the line. Medvedev did better at the French, but I wouldn’t count on him putting it together for that slam at least for a couple years. I think there are some players like Thiem, Djokovic, and a few others that would make life a bit more difficult for him there.

 

[Ricardo]

Which of the three matches are you referring to ? 2010 , 2011 U S Open semifinals? 2019 Wimbly final, or all three matches? It'll be too much of a coincidence for Luck to play a role three times, surely?

You need luck when You are down match points…it’s not even an argument, one big serve or forehand or even a letcord and it’s over…can’t believe this has to be explained.

 

[Ricardo]

After longuish absence from this forum, I've heard the news Medvedev has stopped Joker at the very last moment in US Open final! What a celebration! Danil is my hero! So I stopped by guys, to express my happiness and gratitude to the Russian player who otherwise is a minor character (still better than Joker) but today he's a hero because he stopped the devil.
In the absence of Fed/Nad and the continued annoying presence of a one who does not deserve to share their status, I lost interest watching tennis. Today I finally got a ray of hope that a new generation of players can finally overcome and subdue that annoying player. And I'm not the only one annoyed by said player. A poll conducted among tennis fans in my country, puts GOAT order as:
Roger Federer 81%
Novak Djokovic 10%
Rafael Nadal 9%
I'm surprised Nad is so low, but the difference Fed-Joker could be even bigger, when considering overall package on and off court achievements.

US Open 2021 LIVE: Medvedev wins first major, stops Djokovic’s shot at elusive grand slam

Daniil Medvedev has stunned Novak Djokovic, winning the US Open final in straight sets, ending the Serbians’s shot at history. The world No.1 was aiming complete the grand slam, by winning the full set - the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open - in a calendar year.

www.smh.com.au

The poll is bs

 

[the AntiPusher]

Well, Well, Well..the Evil is Dead... Thank God for Daniil's mental therapist... BRAVO

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Loved this from Daniil Medvedev,

"Russians know how to celebrate.hopefully I will not get on the news".....

 

[Jelenafan]

I think on hard courts sure, but the other surfaces, I would still give the edge to Novak. Australian Open will be interesting now that Novak doesn’t have so much on the line. Medvedev did better at the French, but I wouldn’t count on him putting it together for that slam at least for a couple years. I think there are some players like Thiem, Djokovic, and a few others that would make life a bit more difficult for him there.

I dunno, to me Alexander Zrevev is still getting better on HC , as well as Tsitsipas (who I concede is streaky), besides Medvedev who has to have even more confidence going forward, since he wins more HC tournaments than anyone but now has the muscle memory of actually winning a Major , so I don't think the Australian Open actually gets any easier for NOvak just because a Grand Slam isn't on the line.

Of course he can win a 8th crown, but If anything, it seems it will be an even a tougher road to hoe. If Medevedev meets him in another final, as they both will probably be seeded 1/2 I don't predict a repeat of this years AO.

 

[Moxie]

Hey Moxie, I didn't hear or get that either. "Only legends will understand?"

Maybe we'll get that in the press tomorrow.

 

[Fiero425]

To be honest, Djokovic hasn’t played inspired tennis since the Australian Open. He just was fortunate to come across players who didn’t make him pay for it. I think the only other match he seemed to really show something was his SF match against Rafa at the French.

The same could be said for the USO SF vs Zverev! He had to work hard for that win until the 5th set where he took over the match!

 

[MikeOne]

A disappointment... To me, novak is already GOAT based on stats (most weeks @ #1, tied for slam record, most masters, 5 eod at tour cups, won 4 majors in a row, winning record vs Rafa/Roger, beat Roger 3 times in W finals, Rafa twice at FO.... )... But i wanted him to seal the deal and get calendar slam so even the deniers can't deny it..

As far as match. I actually like Medvedev, prob my 3rd favorite players after Djoker, Rafa... He is versatile, maybe too defensive at times but tricky. I think he has a little less upside than Zverev but more consistent. In my view, someone like Zverev has a better shot as beating Novak at his best vs Medvedev BUT Medvedev is the steadier, more consistent player.

Medvedev played the match he had to play today, smart tactics. First, he needed to serve well.... and he served very well. He did double fault a lot towards the end but he had already done the damage by then. Novak had more probs returning his serve than Berretini's or Zverev's... it could've been due to faster conditions (day match vs other two were night matches) but the serving was key for Medvedev.

Then Medvedev played the right tactics.... he didn't go for too much; often, he was very defensive, just baiting Djokovic, knowing Djokovic was under pressure. He also covered the court well so he forced Djokovic to basically hit through him... Djokovic couldn't do it, Med was all over the place. Medvedev also used drop shot and hit sneaky winners at times... His tactics seemed to be - play defensive for a few rallies, wait for either Novak to miss or at first opportunity, go for a winner on attackable shot. Novak hit too many UFEs.... partly due to Medvedev's play and defense.

Both AO and US open finals were 3 sets, roughly around same # of games (AO - 27 games, USO - 30 games). A comparison of stats:

AO
aces/Dfs, ND 3/2, DM, 6/4
Winners/UFEs, ND 20/17, DM 24/30

USO
aces/Dfs, ND 6/3, DM, 16/9
Winners/UFEs, ND 27/38, DM 38/31

Medvedev hit 10 more aces....
Djokovic hit 21 more UFEs
Medvedev hit 14 more winners

So 14 more winners for Medvedev than he hit at AO and 21 more UFEs for Djokokovic, which is extremely unusual for Djokovic in 3 sets. That's the match.

 

[kskate2]

I didn't watch the match because I had something really important to do today: baking a pie. Checking the scores later, I see Meddie showed the door in straights. Great job on winning your first major. So the really has arrived.

 

[Moxie]

I think on hard courts sure, but the other surfaces, I would still give the edge to Novak. Australian Open will be interesting now that Novak doesn’t have so much on the line. Medvedev did better at the French, but I wouldn’t count on him putting it together for that slam at least for a couple years. I think there are some players like Thiem, Djokovic, and a few others that would make life a bit more difficult for him there.

Any notion that Novak "doesn't have much on the line" at this next AO is patently false. The run to most Majors is still happening, and the AO is always his best option. He'll be the most pressured to win it.

 

[Moxie]

A disappointment... To me, novak is already GOAT based on stats (most weeks @ #1, tied for slam record, most masters, 5 eod at tour cups, won 4 majors in a row, winning record vs Rafa/Roger, beat Roger 3 times in W finals, Rafa twice at FO.... )... But i wanted him to seal the deal and get calendar slam so even the deniers can't deny it..

As far as match. I actually like Medvedev, prob my 3rd favorite players after Djoker, Rafa... He is versatile, maybe too defensive at times but tricky. I think he has a little less upside than Zverev but more consistent. In my view, someone like Zverev has a better shot as beating Novak at his best vs Medvedev BUT Medvedev is the steadier, more consistent player.

Medvedev played the match he had to play today, smart tactics. First, he needed to serve well.... and he served very well. He did double fault a lot towards the end but he had already done the damage by then. Novak had more probs returning his serve than Berretini's or Zverev's... it could've been due to faster conditions (day match vs other two were night matches) but the serving was key for Medvedev.

Then Medvedev played the right tactics.... he didn't go for too much; often, he was very defensive, just baiting Djokovic, knowing Djokovic was under pressure. He also covered the court well so he forced Djokovic to basically hit through him... Djokovic couldn't do it, Med was all over the place. Medvedev also used drop shot and hit sneaky winners at times... His tactics seemed to be - play defensive for a few rallies, wait for either Novak to miss or at first opportunity, go for a winner on attackable shot. Novak hit too many UFEs.... partly due to Medvedev's play and defense.

Both AO and US open finals were 3 sets, roughly around same # of games (AO - 27 games, USO - 30 games). A comparison of stats:

AO
aces/Dfs, ND 3/2, DM, 6/4
Winners/UFEs, ND 20/17, DM 24/30

USO
aces/Dfs, ND 6/3, DM, 16/9
Winners/UFEs, ND 27/38, DM 38/31

Medvedev hit 10 more aces....
Djokovic hit 21 more UFEs
Medvedev hit 14 more winners

So 14 more winners for Medvedev than he hit at AO and 21 more UFEs for Djokokovic, which is extremely unusual for Djokovic in 3 sets. That's the match.

A disappointment for you, indeed, since you were saying that neither Zverev nor Medvedev had the chops to beat him. Surprise!

I appreciate your stats, but I don't think they tell the whole story. Also, I disagree that Zverev has more upside than Medvedev. IMO, Medvedev is the more versatile player than Zverev.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Any notion that Novak "doesn't have much on the line" at this next AO is patently false. The run to most Majors is still happening, and the AO is always his best option. He'll be the most pressured to win it.

Of course he has pressure, but I would say a bit less. I mean Calendar Year Slam and breaking the tie for most grand slams all at one slam is a lot. Sure he still has to break this tie, but under less scrutiny by many.

 

[Moxie]

Of course he has pressure, but I would say a bit less. I mean Calendar Year Slam and breaking the tie for most grand slams all at one slam is a lot. Sure he still has to break this tie, but under less scrutiny by many.

Obviously less pressure than this match, or this tournament, but not a great deal less. I always said that this match and this USO was going to carry a lot of pressure. I kept mentioning Serena not getting it done in 2015, and I got a lot of pooh-pooh around here that that wasn't going to be the same for Novak. Until it was.

AO coming up should have Rafa and Roger back, hopefully. It's Novak's anchor Major. It's not the CYGS pressure, but there will be a lot of pressure. IMHO.

 

[kskate2]

Since @Front242 is not here to toot his own horn, I'll do it for him.

Front242 said:
Medvedev to not only win this match but the title. Sorry Novak, you're going down.

My response:

Sounds like a line from a movie or Marge

 

[kskate2]

All jokes aside, we may never see another grand slam completed for the men or women. Especially for players aged 30+. It's so much more difficult now w/ social media and all the attention the pursuit of it garners just creates that much more pressure. I have to be honest I was so tired of it when Serena was chasing it and then again this year w/ Novak. For those of who get ESPN, you know, they are relentless. It's talked about everyday ad nauseum, even when the pursuer isn't playing that day. Between the commies when other matches are being called, during the on court interviews w/ other players and in the pressroom.

 

[Jelenafan]

All jokes aside, we may never see another grand slam completed for the men or women. Especially for players aged 30+. It's so much more difficult now w/ social media and all the attention the pursuit of it garners just creates that much more pressure. I have to be honest I was so tired of it when Serena was chasing it and then again this year w/ Novak. For those of who get ESPN, you know, they are relentless. It's talked about everyday ad nauseum, even when the pursuer isn't playing that day. Between the commies when other matches are being called, during the on court interviews w/ other players and in the pressroom.

I would think that an inexperienced qualifier in only their 2nd Major ever played could not go all the way and win a Major. What were the odds of that ever happening?

Viewed in that context of improbable odds, I could see a man or woman completing the Grand Slam.

 

[kskate2]

I would think that an inexperienced qualifier in only their 2nd Major ever played could not go all the way and win a Major. What were the odds of that ever happening?

Viewed in that context of improbable odds, I could see a man or woman completing the Grand Slam.

No doubt a great accomplishment for Emma, but there was no pressure or expectation on either teenager yesterday to win their maiden slam. Chasing a calendar slam is a whole other ether.