One restless evening during Wimbledon, Daniil Medvedev started to imagine what he would do on the off chance that he won the game’s most mythical tournament.
The Russian player knew whether he did, he would need to think of a type of unique festival, since so many past champions there have had immortal and notorious responses on title point.
“To not celebrate is going to be too boring, because I do [boring] all the time,” Medvedev pondered internally.
Medvedev didn’t win Wimbledon. Yet, here he was on Sunday, in the US Open last, nearly spoiling history and pulling off one of tennis’ most prominent upsets with stopping Novak Djokovic from winning the schedule Grand Slam and an unprecedented 21st major.
In the wake of blasting a 129 mph service winner to get through and win his first Slam, Medvedev made a few strides prior to releasing his body limp, falling onto his left shoulder and laying there while staying his tongue out.
“I like to play FIFA,” Medvedev said of the popular soccer video game. “It’s called the ‘dead fish’ celebration. If you know your opponent when you play FIFA, many times you’re going to do this [to annoy your opponent] … I talked to the [younger] guys in the locker room. They were like, that’s legendary [celebrating like that].”
It was just fitting that subsequent to beating one of tennis’ legends, Medvedev praised like a genuine gamer. He set up computer game like help numbers, winning 81% of the focuses on his first serve and presenting 16 aces. He was broken only once in 15 help games against the best returner in the game.
Playing before an Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that came to witness history, Medvedev beat Djokovic from various perspectives unexpectedly. Viewed as a chess ace by his friends for the manner in which he thinks and plays, Medvedev did something few do to Djokovic: He won the long, granulating, soul-squashing rallies. Medvedev won 18 of the 25 revitalizes that endured nine shots or more in the last.
Maybe that is the reason Djokovic blew a gasket in the fourth round of the second set when he crushed his racket multiple times, snapping it. Djokovic was irritated before in the challenge that a basic point must be played over after music incidentally was played just after he made a profound profit from a Medvedev serve.
The truth, however, was that Djokovic knew on this day that he needed to make the most of each opportunity he acquired. Also, Medvedev didn’t give him many.
It’s anything but an unexpected Medvedev appeared to get everything back. That is the thing that he does. Be that as it may, to beat Djokovic on numerous occasions on long baseline rallies is, indeed, incredible for somebody not named Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal.
After Djokovic beat Germany’s Alexander Zverev, one of Medvedev’s individual cutting edge stars, in five-setter in the semis here, Djokovic said he needed his rivals to feel the terrorizing factor that the Serbian player presents during the greatest snapshots of a match. Djokovic had procured that standing by granulating out so many tight matches and continually coming up enormous when the pressing factor was at its most prominent.
Medvedev, however, was the person who kept thinking of big-time reactions any time energy appeared as though it would change. With a group preferring Djokovic, Medvedev kept thinking of a major serve to quiet the fans.
Djokovic didn’t almost play his best tennis, his legs feeling the impacts of a five-setter on Friday night as well as the expanding pressing factor of accomplishing something no man has done since Rod Laver did as such in 1969: win every one of the four majors around the same time.
Djokovic was so predominant in the Slams this season that it caused everybody to fail to remember what it resembles to see him look human. It likewise caused everybody to fail to focus on exactly how great Medvedev is.
Nobody has been exceptional on hard courts than Medvedev, who drives the men’s visit in hard-court wins (147), last debuts (17) and titles (12) since the beginning of 2018. Medvedev likewise was the US Open finalist in 2019, losing in five sets to Nadal.
In any case, the hole entering Sunday was pretty much as wide as their past Grand Slam last experience, when Djokovic squashed the Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 at the Australian Open last.
“I did beat him once in straight sets in London,” Medvedev said. “… Maybe he had a bad day [here]. If we talk about Australia, I definitely didn’t play my best there. But, again, probably people are going to say, ‘Well, Novak destroyed him.’ Whatever.
“He definitely was not at his best. We saw him playing better. The question is, if he would be, would I be able to [stay with] him? We can never know now. I’m just happy to win.”
As the two men remained during the prize show, Medvedev told the excess group and Djokovic something he had never said to anybody.
“I first want to say sorry for you and the fans, because we all know what he was going for today,” Medvedev said. “What you accomplished this year and throughout your career, I have never said this to anybody, but, for me, you are the greatest tennis player in history.”
Medvedev has for some time been viewed as one of the following incredible abilities of the game. In any case, prior to beating Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who was the primary man brought into the world during the 2000s to play in a Grand Slam elimination round, Medvedev kidded possibly he’s “not a next gen anymore.”
Djokovic affirmed he isn’t. Medvedev has shown up now with his first Slam.
“The transition was inevitable,” Djokovic said of watching new stars start to win majors after Dominic Thiem won last year. “The older guys are still hanging on. We’re still trying to shine the light on the tennis world as much as we possibly can.
“But the new generation, if you want to call them this way, is not new. It’s already current, established. Of course, they are going to take over. I think tennis is in good hands.”
Medvedev had the option to expertly shut out the group wanting for a Djokovic supernatural occurrence toward the end. However, Medvedev would have two or three things on his have cared.
Sunday was Medvedev’s commemoration with his significant other, Daria. Medvedev admitted that he had not purchased a present and that he essentially needed to win this last as her gift. With that in his sub-conscience and an issue creating in the last game, Medvedev finished off Djokovic and pummeled the entryway shut on history.
All there was left to do was execute the “dead fish” move.
Djokovic didn’t get his legendary win, however Medvedev got his extraordinary celebration.
“I got hurt a little bit,” Medvedev said of falling onto the hard court. “But I’m happy I made it legendary for myself.”