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[스포츠서울|김경무전문기자] “The back wave of the Yangtze River pushed the front wave away.”
World No. 2 Danil Medvedev (25, Russia) finally tasted the thrill of winning the first Grand Slam after three final attempts. While mercilessly frustrated with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic (34, Serbia) who was aiming for a calendar grand slam… .
The men’s singles final of the 2021 U.S. Open Tennis Championships was held at the Arthur Ash Stadium at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA on the 12th (local time). Contrary to the original expectation of the tournament organizers that Djokovic would win by 51-49, Medvedev ended up winning 3-0 (6-4, 6-4, 6-4). The prize money for the championship is 2.5 million dollars (2.925 billion won).
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Medvedev made his first Grand Slam at the US Open in hard court, where he has strengths, while blaming him for losing to Djokovic 0-3 (5-7, 2-6, 2-6) in the men’s singles final at the 2021 Australian Open in February. won the title
Medvedev reached the men’s singles final of the first Grand Slam at the 2019 US Open, but lost to Rafael Nadal (35, Spain) 2-3 after a bloody battle for more than five hours. Last year’s US Open men’s singles semifinals were devastating with no set, but they lost 0-3 to Dominic Tim (28, Austria).
In an interview after the game, Djokovic said to Medvedev, “Amazing, amazing competition. If anyone could claim the Grand Slam title right now, it’s you. You did a great job,” he congratulated. Medvedev said to Djokovic, “Above all, I’m sorry to you and your fans. As I’ve never said before, you’re the greatest tennis player of all time.”
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Djokovic, who was aiming for the calendar grand slam for the first time in 52 years since Rod Laver (Australia) in 1969, faced Medvedev on the same day and was pushed behind in serve, stroke power, and court cover, so he could not achieve his dream of achieving a record. Roger Federer (40, Switzerland) and Nadal have not surpassed the record of winning the men’s singles 20 times at the Grand Slam, jointly leading the time.
Before the game, Djokovic said, “It’s the most important game of my life. It will be the last game.” On that day, Djokovic was given a warning for smashing his racquet on the floor after he missed several break opportunities in the Medvedev subgame in a situation where the game score was 2-1 in the second set.
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Kim Young-hong, a commentator on the broadcast, said, “Medvedev showed a defense like a spider’s web. The footwork and upper body flexibility are good, so today’s defense is really great. The second serve also has a strong strength. He has two first serves.” With this victory, Medvedev recorded 5 wins and 4 losses against Djokovic in their opponent’s record.
The final of the day drew attention as a match between the 1st and 2nd seeds. Medvedev had a tight battle in the first set, but in a game score of 5-4, he put one of his best sub-aces into the net and won 6-4. He succeeded in breaking in the second set, leading the game with a game score of 5-3, and won again by winning his own sub-game by 5-4. It was Djokovic’s volley error in the 40-30.
Medvedev also had the upper hand in the stroke rally fight in the third set, putting the score to 6-4. The match ended in 2 hours and 15 minutes. kkm100@sportsseoul.com
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