His Story, Not History!

Medvedev Thwarts Djokovic’s Bid For Record Slam To Win First Major Title

- Prajwal Hegde

New York:

On the last leg of Novak Djokovic’s extraordinary chase the ink dried, there was but a mile to go.

On a riotous day at the Arthur Ashe stadium, Russian maverick Daniil Medvedev bettered the world No. 1’s telling exactitude to craft a resounding first Grand Slam victory that echoed across the tennis landscape.

Medvedev pulled off a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory, botching the World No. 1’s calendar Grand Slam goal.

The 34-year-old was looking to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Majors in one season and also break a tie with Roger Federer and Rafael for the most Major titles in the men’s game, which now stands at 20 apiece.

Medvedev’s serve, which took the sting out of Djokovic’s return on an evening high on emotions, helped him join fellow Russians Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin as Major champions.

When Djokovic’s return fell flat on the third match point, Medvedev, who stopped celebrating wins following his runins with crowds in New York two years ago, dropped to his side and played dead, his eyes closed and his tongue was out. This was the ‘dead fish’, a celebration from a video game.

Medvedev struck on it during Wimbledon when he was struggling to sleep one night. “I’m going to win Wimbledon, imagine I win it against Novak,” he started thinking. “To not celebrate is too boring, I need to do something, but I want to make it special. Everybody who plays FIFA thinks that’s legendary.”