Nadezhda is now in Vladivostok, where she participates in the program of the Eastern Economic Forum: she holds master classes for children, speaks at sessions and debates on the development of sports. Despite the busy schedule, our famous tennis player could not miss the women’s doubles and men’s singles final with the participation of the Russians Vera Zvonareva and Daniil Medvedev.
Unfortunately, both Vera and Daniil were left without a title. Together with Nadezhda Petrova we tried to find out why.
Zvonareva and Siegemund already won the US Open in 2020. What prevented her from winning that time?
Nadezhda Petrova: Vera Zvonareva could repeat that success with her German teammate Siegemund and claim another Grand Slam title at the same US Open. But a bit of bad luck. In the first set there was a very long tie-break. It seemed that all the emotions and forces fell on him. And, having lost, the girls became angry, they missed the beginning of the second set and the game did not progress further, they could not restore balance in the match. The rivals, on the other hand, felt confident and close to victory. This inspired them. Surely Vera and Laura are very disappointed. But still, the final is a great achievement. They are experienced tennis players. I am simply amazed by Vera Zvonareva’s resilience and her love for tennis. After becoming a mother, she continues to actively train, play and travel to tournaments, as she did before the birth of her son.
What was the key moment of the Medvedev vs Djokovic final?
Nadezhda Petrova: The first set did not go well for Dani. There were a lot of unforced errors. Such simple mistakes that you normally don’t make. Nerves, apparently. Djokovic came out very determined. It is an athletic machine. If he wants something, he moves towards the goal. And with a lot of confidence. Of course, having won so many Slams, he has incredible confidence in himself. The second set of this match was the key. Danya could change the course of the game. She had a set point. It was possible to get hooked and win. Novak also got a little nervous and double faults started to appear. He moved away from the baseline and started playing a little defensive tennis. But Danya, unfortunately, could not win the decisive ball of the set. He acted incorrectly: too conservatively, he did not take the risk. As for time, they played the second set very long, leaving a lot of energy. After losing the second game, Medvedev probably found it impossible to come back from 0-2 in sets. And Djokovic felt that the goal was close and he started moving at a fast pace. But Medvedev could no longer find his tennis. So he finished in three sets. After the victory, Djokovic once again became the first racket in the world.
