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Russian tennis ace Daniil Medvedev won his first Grand Slam by shattering world number 1 Novak Djokovic's hopes of completing a calendar Grand Slam as he registered a victory in straight sets. While second seed Medvedev had lost his two Grand Slam finals but was composed and clinical throughout his 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win.
The 34-year-old Djokovic was looking at a shot at history with a record 21st Grand Slam title at stake along with a chance of becoming the first man to sweep all the grand slams in a year since Rod Laver in 1969. He had already registered wins in Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this year and a win here would have taken him ahead of rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the battle to finish with the most men's major titles.
He had earlier also gone on record saying that the calendar grand slam could be the greatest achievement of his career and perhaps he let the occasion get the better of him at New York on Sunday. The otherwise resilient Djokovic looked subdued on the court making uncharacteristic errors and also becoming tearful towards the end when he is known to come back from similar situations in the past and win matches.
He was also far from being at his prime in terms of fitness on the court. Having said that, Medvedev was superb in the finals and deserved to win the match. The Russian drew the errors out of his opponent with strong serving as well as finishing points with precise winners.
"I want to thank my team, those who are here and watching. My parents, my family, my sisters. Some of my friends are here too," Medvedev, who lost only one set in the entire tournament, said after the match.
"Thank you guys because it is not an easy journey to win a Slam. I'm really thankful to you for helping me throughout this journey," he added.
Meanwhile, Djokovic too congratulated Medvedev and hoped that the Russian would win more in the coming times.
"If there is anyone who deserves a Grand Slam title right now, it is you. Well done. There will be many more titles to come, I'm sure," he said.