Daniil Medvedev managed to stand in Novak Djokovic’s path to history two years ago and prevented him from achieving a calendar Grand Slam, but this time he retired. In the US Open final, the Serbian won his 24th major title, beating the Russian in three sets.
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“Novak, what are you still doing here? Now it is OK!”
After the loss, Medvedev joked a lot about how Novak still hadn’t calmed down and even at 36 years old still held the highest bar. That wedding anniversary gift for his wife turned out to be shit, but he hopes to win the US Open one day.
– This is your third US Open final in five years. I looked at your statistics, you perform especially successfully in New York, why? – First of all I want to ask Novak: what are you still doing here? Well now! (laughs). And joking aside, what’s our ending, the third? Probably not the last. I hope so, because you will probably play in many more (laughs). I don’t know when you’re going to slow down a bit. Congratulations to you and your team, 24… I think I have a good career, I have 20 titles and you have 24 Slams. Wow! Congratulations, you and your team are absolutely amazing!
Two years ago I won here and I talked about what a great gift it was for my wife. Today is shit (laughs). Normally the dates change, but today is Sunday again: wedding anniversary. I thought: come on, do it again! But this did not happen (smiles).
— Say a few words about your team. — I want to thank Gilles and Eric for being with me for eight years. Hopefully we can win once again at this level, and maybe more. Oliver, Loik, Arina, David, my whole family, everyone who supports me, thank you very much!
—What does the confrontation with Novak mean to you? – I don’t know, because on the one hand I can say that I defeated Novak in the Grand Slam final, and this is amazing. This is the highest point of my career so far. But at the same time, what if Novak and Rafa didn’t exist? Of course, this is impossible, but I played five finals against them and was only able to win once. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but he pushes me to be better. I already said it in Australia, but I’ll say it again.
We met when I was ranked 500th. Nothing special, but he was very kind to me, treated me like a normal person. Then I was really surprised and thought, wow, this is amazing. Nothing has changed. 24, 30, 12 “helmets”, and it hasn’t changed at all. It’s great when you can say that about a person. And one last thing. Guys, thank you very much! You are amazing. This is a special stadium. I came here a week before the tournament and I thought: wow, I want to perform well here, I want to feel the energy of the stands. And I did it, even though I wanted to do better. But you constantly encourage me, I hope I can still lift this trophy in front of you.
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“Daniel, I’m sorry! If I knew that today was your anniversary with your wife…”
Novak Djokovic cried after the victory, hugged his daughter and then donned a white sweater with the number “24” to celebrate his record-breaking title. Judging by the colors, the clothes were prepared a long time ago, even before Wimbledon, but only now did I find them useful.
Underneath the sweater, Novak wore a Kobe Bryant jersey; He dedicated part of his speech to the late basketball player. He also apologized to Daniel and his wife for ruining the vacation.
— 24, what does this mean to you? – I do not know where to start. It means a lot. I repeat myself, but I have to say it every time: in fact, I am making my childhood dream of playing at the highest level come true. Tennis has given my family a lot! There were many difficulties and adversities on our path, in the 1990s our country experienced two wars, but we were able to overcome everything. This is especially true for my parents, they sacrificed a lot so that I could play tennis. It is a very expensive sport, but I fell in love with it. No one in the family had ever played tennis, so it was a different choice. But the parents were adamant. They, my wife, my children, the team, who believed in me all these years, this is equally their trophy. This is your success, I love you! Going down in the history of this sport is huge. It’s hard to describe it in words, but when I was seven years old I dreamed of becoming the best player in the world and winning Wimbledon. I didn’t want anything else. But then new dreams and goals began to appear, but I never thought that I would stay here and talk about 24 “helmets”. I never thought this would come true. But in recent years I felt like I had the opportunity to make history. Why not grab it then?
Enough about me, Daniil said so many good words, I want to congratulate you on a fantastic tournament. Sorry for today’s outcome, don’t take this the wrong way, but happy wedding anniversary to your wife. I’m sorry! (smile). I with all my heart. If I knew that today was your anniversary, then maybe the result… Jokes aside, Daniil is always very kind and sweet to me and my team. It seems that you and your coach started working in youth categories when you were 14 years old. It is fantastic to see your evolution and your achievements. I know there will still be many achievements ahead, good luck with this. You will definitely win more Slams. Daniel, never change! You are so original, and your celebrations, comments. I love are the best. What else to say?
Novak Djokovic wears a Kobe Bryant jersey
Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images
– Mamba mentality. – Mamba, yes (shows a shirt with Kobe Bryant).
– Novak’s Mamba mentality and will to win. How do you do this? “I wanted to make this shirt in case I win.” I didn’t tell anyone about this, only those who helped make the shirt. Kobe was a close friend of mine, we talked a lot about winning, winning mentality. I trusted him when I was injured and tried to get back to the top level. He was always willing to support and give advice. His death moved me deeply. I thought he wore number 24 when he became a Lakers and basketball legend, so it would be symbolic to honor him like that.
