Daniil Medvedev won his first Major title, ending Novak Djokovic’s Calendar Slam dream with a dominant straight sets victory in the US Open final on Sunday.
The world No 2 dominated Djokovic with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win to prevent the first calendar-year Grand Slam since 1969 as well as denying him a record-breaking 21st major men’s singles title.
Medvedev, the 2019 US Open runner-up, captured his first Grand Slam title in his third Slam final, a rematch of February’s Australian Open final, won in straight sets by the 34-year-old Serbian to launch his Slam quest.
Djokovic missed out on his fourth US Open title and will enter 2022 tied with “Big Three” rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, both absent with injuries, on an all-time record 20 men’s Slam titles.
While the straight-sets win was not a match of the highest quality, the history attached to it made it a momentous occasion, giving men’s tennis a new Grand Slam champion. Medvedev is only the second man born in the 1990s to win a singles Major after Dominic Thiem, who won US Open last year.
Here’s a look at some reactions to Medvedev’s victory at Flushing Meadows:
How 2021 started How it's going pic.twitter.com/7NMHk9JlAq
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 12, 2021
Congratulations @daniilmedwed, well deserved! No words can describe how it feels to win your first @usopen, but I bet you're the happiest man alive right now! pic.twitter.com/akmLx9DZYB
— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) September 12, 2021
Simply stunning Daniil Medvedev, you stopped one of the greatest tonight. To win your first Grand Slam title is always special, to do it against a champion like Novak Djokovic is something else. Take heart Novak, the quest continues. Best wishes, 🚀
— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) September 12, 2021
Congratulations to @DaniilMedwed the 2021 #USOpen Men’s Singles Champion.
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 12, 2021
Credit to Medvedev who played spectacularly.
As @rodlaver would say, you can’t have one bad match in a major, & Novak made too many unforced errors today.
However, winning 3 of 4 Slams is remarkable.👏 https://t.co/TUevdDEjyS
Flawless match strategy by Medvedev. He deserved the win today. We still need to acknowledge how phenomenal Novak was this year (and for 15 yesrs) Was fun to watch. Congrats to both!!
— andyroddick (@andyroddick) September 12, 2021
What a performance!
— Dominic Thiem (@ThiemDomi) September 12, 2021
Congrats on your first Grand Slam title @DaniilMedwed ! 🏆🙌🏼 pic.twitter.com/5tDpWX7yAu
Medvedev current holds:
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 12, 2021
🏆 #USOpen
🏆 Nitto ATP Finals
🏆 ATP Cup
🏆 Three ATP Masters 1000 titles (Toronto, Shanghai, Paris)
🏆 Three ATP 250 titles (Marseille, Mallorca, St. Petersburg) pic.twitter.com/wcby2Iux1M
Daniil Medvedev is the 9th different US Open men’s champion in the last 14 years. pic.twitter.com/FnPybUiFZC
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) September 12, 2021
Medvedev's #USOpen was nearly Raducanuesque!
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) September 12, 2021
Dropped one set; needed no tiebreaks.
R1 d Gasquet 6-4, 6-3, 6-1
R2 d Koepfer 6-4, 6-1, 6-2
R3 d Andujar 6-0, 6-4, 6-3
R4 d Evans 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
QF d vd Zandschulp 6-3, 6-0, 4-6, 7-5
SF d FAA 6-4, 7-5, 6-2
F d Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
Del Potro d. Federer USO 2009
— Full Dissident (@hbryant42) September 12, 2021
Murray d. Djokovic USO 2012
Murray d. Djokovic Wimbledon 2013
Wawrinka d. Nadal AO 2014
Wawrinka d. Djokovic RG 2015
Wawrinka d. Djokovic USO 2016
Medvedev d. Djokovic USO 2021 https://t.co/DvVL5iZkCG
Players to beat one of the Big 3 (other than themselves) in a Grand Slam final:
— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) September 12, 2021
Del Potro x1
Murray x2
Wawrinka x3
Medvedev x1
Medvedev beat Djokovic plus almost an entire Arthur Ashe Stadium just then #USOpen
— Alison Mitchell (@AlisonMitchell) September 12, 2021
Medvedev’s hard court level in New York in both 2019 and 2021 deserves serious praise. He’s also been the best player in the north american hard court swing overall for a few years now. His game is just built for those courts
— Matthew Willis (@mattracquet) September 12, 2021
A couple weeks ago didn’t Medvedev say that all the Next gen are trying to stop Novak from history?
— Somdev Devvarman (@SomdevD) September 12, 2021
Hindsight is always 20:20 but it sure seems like Zverev, Berrettini, Brooksby and Rune had a big part to play coming into the final
There’s a lot to say about Novak Djoković. But for now, I’ll say just this: there’s never a dull moment with him. The one outcome I didn’t anticipate was a straight-set win by Medvedev. #USOpen
— Ana Mitrić (@ana_mitric) September 12, 2021
So happy for you @DaniilMedwed !! Overcoming a crowd like that while trying to win your 1st Grand Slam shows how much mental strength you have!!! New York- do better #USOpen
— Allie Kiick (@AllieKiick) September 12, 2021
This is what sports is about. pic.twitter.com/M0pzTQDsvl
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 12, 2021
Medvedev’s 2 year US Open arc culminating with this image is just about as poetic as I thought it’d be https://t.co/cuXAkerFin
— ❤️ (@drivevolleys) September 12, 2021
Praise for Djokovic
A phenomenal year, even by his standards.
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) September 12, 2021
It's been a privilege to watch it unfold, @DjokerNole 👏 https://t.co/KGCZiUMOSf
No... I'm not crying... I'M NOT CRYING... Ohh, who cares... #usopen #Djokovic
— Iga Świątek (@iga_swiatek) September 12, 2021
Incredibly happy for Medvedev! But so devo for Djokovic wow.
— Daria Gavrilova (@Daria_gav) September 12, 2021
Omg 😭😭😭😭 I like Meddy don’t get me wrong but history would have been amazing. Novak is the GOAT and deserves it https://t.co/cihdy6PAuQ
— Genie Bouchard (@geniebouchard) September 12, 2021
It wasn't his day, but it's definitely been his year.
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 12, 2021
Take a bow, @DjokerNole 👏 #USOpen pic.twitter.com/myse317sEc
After everything Novak has achieved in his career, it’s finally receiving that overwhelming love and support from the crowd that has touched him so deeply. Sport is amazing
— Naomi Broady (@NaomiBroady) September 12, 2021