Daniil Medvedev produces upset of the year, defeats Novak Djokovic in US Open final

Daniil Medvedev made and denied history at the same time on Sunday as he defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets to claim the US Open title, his maiden Grand Slam. His 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over Djokovic was not only a major upset but also prevented the World No. 1 from completing the Grand Slam.

Djokovic was aiming to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four majors in a single campaign and a win would have also taken the Serbian ahead of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for the most major titles in history (20 each). But the 25-year-old Medvedev produced composed and calm tennis to become the third Russian man to earn Slam glory, after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin.

The last time the pair had faced off at a major championship, Djokovic had breezed past Medvedev comfortably in straight sets in the Australian Open final earlier his year. Two years after his five-set loss in his maiden Grand Slam final against Rafael Nadal, which happened at the same venue of Arthur Ashe Stadium, the second seed Medvedev finally opened his Grand Slam account.

In a post-match interview on Sunday, Medvedev joked that Russians know how to celebrate before adding hopefully he'll not get in the news for celebrating in a bad way.

"You never know if you're going to achieve it in your career. Again I was always saying, 'If I don't, I just want to know that I did my best to do it'. That's my first Grand Slam. I don't know how I'm going to feel if I win a second one or third one. That's my first one, so I'm really happy. It means a lot to me… After winning in Canada, I knew I had Cincinnati next to try to prepare well for US Open, so I couldn't even celebrate in a way. I needed to get on the plane and get ready for my first round.

"Here I know I don't have anything coming soon… so I know how to celebrate. Russians know how to celebrate (smiling). Hopefully, I will not get in the news. If I [do], it's going to be in a good way. But I'm going to definitely celebrate the next few days," Medvedev told ATP's official website after his historic win in the US Open final.

Meanwhile, despite the disappointment, Djokovic hailed his young opponent, saying Medvedev deserved to win.

"Of course, part of me is very sad. It's a tough one to swallow, this loss, I mean, considering everything that was on the line," Djokovic said. "But on the other hand, I felt something I never felt in my life here in New York. The crowd made me [feel] very special. They pleasantly surprised me. The amount of support and energy and love I got from the crowd was something that I'll remember forever. That's the reason for the changeover I just teared up. The emotion, the energy was so strong. It's as strong as winning 21 Grand Slams. That's how I felt, honestly. I felt very, very special," said Djokovic after suffering his first Grand Slam final loss of 2021.

"Full credit [to] his mentality, his approach, his game, everything. He absolutely was the better player and deserved to win, no doubt about it. Of course, I'm disappointed with the overall game that I performed today. I know I could have and should have done better," the Serbia national added.