Federer was the better player for most of their first grass-court encounter as Djokovic seemed to lack his usual mojo and positive body language that made him the most dominant player in the game for almost two years. Djokovic was extremely close to his late grandfather, according to a CNN. As a young man, it can be difficult to get past emotional challenges like this.
It will take time for the wounds to heal, but heal they will. Once Djokovic starts to regain his emotional stability, he'll be back to his old tricks. This stretch of less-than-perfect tennis will be remembered as little more than a hiccup in the grand scope of his career. But those moments never materialized, and Medvedev didn't let his foot off the gas even one bit. As he broke Djokovic once early in the third set, and then again for a lead, it appeared the stress of the achievement he was attempting and the tough, physical battles he had been through earlier in the tournament had finally taken their toll.
As Medvedev stepped to the line to serve out the title at , the New York crowd began to get more involved, heckling Medvedev throughout the game and screaming and whistling during his service motion. Medvedev did not handle it well, double faulting three times to hand one break back to Djokovic.
Though the crowd attempted to give him one more shot of adrenaline at , Djokovic appeared to be weeping into his towel during the changeover. Medvedev, too, felt the stress of the moment in the form of leg cramps and was trying not to let Djokovic see him struggling to move. He said he thought it up in the middle of the night during Wimbledon, when he was playing so well he thought he might just win the tournament. Instead, he lost in the round of 16 and had to save it for another day. The moment DaniilMedwed did the unthinkable.
During the trophy presentation afterwards, an emotional and gracious Djokovic said there was no player than Medvedev who was more deserving of a Grand Slam title. He paid tribute to the New York crowd, which had finally embraced him after years here where his treatment was far less warm than Federer and Nadal. The crowd made me very special. They pleasantly surprised me. Medvedev, who called Djokovic the greatest tennis player in history during the trophy ceremony, was almost apologetic about disappointing the crowd.
But he was also satisfied to have achieved something he had wanted so badly. When I won my first futures tournament , I was happy. I was glad it was over because the buildup for this tournament and everything that mentally, emotionally I had to deal with throughout the tournament in the last couple of weeks was just a lot.
It was a lot to handle. Medvedev joined titlist Dominic Thiem in breaking through for his first major at Flushing Meadows. In his first-round match, two weeks ago, the fans had rooted hard for his little-known opponent, Holger Rune. By Sunday, the Ashe audience was behind him in a way that it had never had been during his 16 trips here.
They stood for him, they chanted his name, they did everything they could to lift him up. Finally, one game from losing, Djokovic cried on the final changeover, and he misted up again during the trophy presentation. They pleasantly surprised me. The emotion, the energy was so strong. I felt very, very special. They touched my heart, honestly. His detractors say part of the reason is that he wants to be loved too much.
Tonight we saw what that love meant to Djokovic. He lost the biggest match of his career, even as he was winning over the biggest audience of his life.
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