The 6’6” Russian has a deceptive, unconventional game — he is also that rare player who is simultaneously a great server, mover and returner. Having reached the final at four of the last six hard-court Majors, he will be the man to beat at the US Open
The 6’6” Russian has a deceptive, unconventional game — he is also that rare player who is simultaneously a great server, mover and returner. Having reached the final at four of the last six hard-court Majors, he will be the man to beat at the US Open
September 12, 2021 could have marked the crowning glory of Novak Djokovic’s career. At the US Open, he was one match away from achieving men’s tennis’ first Grand Slam — winning all four Majors in a year — since Rod Laver managed the feat in 1969. With a win, he would have also become the greatest men’s player in history, statistically, by capturing a record-breaking 21st Major. Sporting immortality beckoned.
Instead, what one saw was a watershed moment for men’s tennis, a blindingly devastating performance from Daniil Medvedev that dented Djokovic’s hitherto inhuman standards, one that earned the Russian his first Major trophy.
The significance of the win wasn’t lost. This was the first time a young player had felled one of the ‘Big 3’ in a Slam final. A passing of the baton it didn’t prove to be, with Rafael Nadal and Djokovic going on to win the subsequent three Majors. But never did anyone think that a man significantly younger — Medvedev was 25 then, Djokovic 34 — would finally defeat the old guard at the top of their games, when the stakes were that high.
So far and deep have the tremors from that earthquake of a performance extended that Medvedev, the reigning World No.1, despite a below-par season, will still be among the favourites when the 2022 edition kicks off on Monday.
The rise
To the casual eye, that 2021 show may seem like a one-off. But a closer look will reveal that Medvedev was building up for it. For a good two years leading in, he was arguably the best hard-court player in the world, particularly ruthless in the period starting from the US Open swing until the Australian Open.
In 2019 — his coming out year — he was all but untouchable over the course of 10 weeks between late July and early October, winning three titles (Cincinnati, St. Petersburg, Shanghai), making three finals (Citi Open, Canada, US Open) and amassing a 29-3 record to reach a new career high of World No. 4.
In 2020, after getting…
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