Novak looking helpless is Medvedev's credit, not just physical exhaustion

Novak Djokovic said he was going to play this final as if it was the last match of his career. He was ready to put his heart and soul to achieve the greatest feat in tennis, something which is not done by any man since the great Rod Laver in 1969. Coming on the back of 17 hours on the court, having played 22 sets before the final, been in an extremely physical match against Sascha Zverev just 24 hours back, Djokovic perhaps looked spent. He gave it all and left everything on the court but Daniil Medvedev produced one of the best performances of his career to play the spoiler in what was supposedly going to be the greatest night in tennis history. 

Djokovic won the coin toss and served first which showed confidence in his own serve as he was serving really well since Wimbledon into the Olympics and also till this very match. Djokovic allowed Medvedev to break after being 40-15 up. One of the key factors being discussed before the match was how Medvedev was going to serve. Many thought Sascha was Novak's biggest obstacle because of his giant serve but nobody could see what Medvedev had in store for Djokovic and every one of us. The Russian won his first two service games within a couple of minutes. The average speed of his second serve was significantly more than his previous matches. Medvedev was so good in the first set which barely lasted an hour that he only lost 3 points on his own serve. 8 aces with an average speed of 120 mph on the first serve, he played almost the perfect set to kick off the biggest grand slam final in tennis history.

At 1-0 in the 2nd set, Djokovic squandered 3 break points which was so unusual to see but again the credit must go to Daniil for serving it big when it mattered. That game to me was the decisive moment in the context of the match. If Djokovic had broken the serve, he had the chance to go 3-0 up and then it would have been a different match altogether. Medvedev broke the world number one soon after to take the set 6-4. The great man had won the french open coming from 2 sets down against Stefanos Tsitsipas. If he was to go anywhere close to doing it again, that was the time. Novak had to break his opponent early in the set to have any chance of staying in the match. As the script would disobey this wish from everyone else in the crowd, the Russian broke Novak in the first game of the third set and he broke him again to go 4-0 up. The set would eventually go to Medvedev 6-4, for the third time in the match.

From the Hollywood stars to the invincibles from tennis history, everybody saw Daniil Medvedev destroy arguably the greatest ever tennis player in front of 23000 fans at the Arthur Ashe Stadium, the majority of which had come to see Novak Djokovic make history. Never have I seen a crowd as big as this on Djokovic's side for the entirety of the final. The Americans with a few Serbian flags, popping up every now and again, lit up the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Novak saved a championship point on his own serve at 5-1. He would go on and break Medvedev to make it 5-4 and that made the crowd believe again. They were chanting his name even during the points which was crazy. When both the players sat down for changeover at 5-4 with Medvedev serving for the championship, Djokovic covered his face with the towel and broke into tears. It would take him half a minute to get hold of the tears and go to the mark to face another big-serving game from the man who was about to break the hearts of so many around the world. This was easily one of the best moments in the history of tennis. What happened after the match literally took my breath away because everyone including the Russian knew that this was supposedly Novak's night. Daniil Medvedev apologizing to everyone for beating the crowd favorite and letting Novak know how much respect he holds in his mind was one of the most romantic moments in recent tennis history. 

Apart from all this, there was a startling reality that needed to be realized and accepted. The 6'6" Russian had outserved, outrun, and outpowered the world number one in New York. Daniil Medvedev had beaten Novak Djokovic hands down in the biggest match of his career. The difference between serving speeds was significant throughout the night. Djokovic had no answers to Medvedev's first serve and to his backhand. We thought the biggest advantage Novak would have would be his backhand which usually is a few miles faster and bigger than Medvedev's backhand. It did actually play a huge part in Melbourne earlier this year but the world number 2 was killing them or what! Crosscourt or down the line, he was almost matching his backhand with his own forehand which Djokovic did not see coming. Medvedev was playing casino tennis as they call it which worked for him brilliantly and helped him beat Novak at his own game. I had not seen Djokovic lose so many long rallies in a single match. He had played 17 hours of tennis prior to the final, 6 hours more than the opponent which is huge. The physical aspect definitely had a massive impact on the game but the mental pressure that he was under was beyond imagination. There was too much at stake for him to not feel the pressure, even for the man as mentally strong as Novak Djokovic. The most hyped night in this calendar year ended with someone from the younger generation beating one of big 3. The fact that it was achieved by the most likely and the most deserving contender satisfied the tennis fraternity somewhat after the disappointment that they had to digest which was much bigger than the joy derived from it.