Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in the final, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 to win the Men's Singles tennis title at the 2021 US Open. It was his first major title and he only dropped one set en route . Medvedev became the third Russian man, after Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Marat Safin, to win a major singles title, and the first to do so since Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.
It was the first time since 2015 that the top 2 seeds contested the US Open championship match, and it was a rematch of the Australian Open final earlier that year, which Djokovic won in straight sets. By reaching the final, Djokovic equaled Roger Federer's record of 31 major men's singles finals reached. For the second time, Djokovic became the only men's player in history to win 27 Grand Slam singles matches in one year, having also achieved this feat in 2015; equaling the record set by Steffi Graf in 1988. It was the second time he had contested 28 Grand Slam singles matches in a year, a record he shares with Roger Federer.
This was his record sixth runner-up finish at the US Open. The 25-year-old Medvedev, playing in his third grand slam final, became the third Russian man to win a major singles title and the ninth different US Open men's singles champion of the last 14 years. On Saturday, 18-year-old British sensation and qualifier Emma Raducanu beat Canadian 19-year-old Leylah Fernandez to win her very first grand slam title (it's just her second appearance in a major).
She hung on in a dogfight of a first set to win 6-4 and finished her off in straight sets with a 6-3 win. She's only the second woman to reach a final after fewer than three Slam appearances. The Serbian is trying to make history by becoming the first man in 52 years to win the calendar year Grand Slam, winning all four majors. He began by beating Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne to claim the Australian Open title.
Djokovic then rallied from two sets down to Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek playing in his first grand slam final, to win the French and met another final first-timer in Matteo Berrettini at Wimbledon. • Daniil Medvedev thwarted history and beat Novak Djokovic to win the 2021 U.S. He dropped one set all tournament and played brilliantly in the final, out-Djokovic-ing Djokovic, and grabbing early breaks on each of the three sets, thus leeching drama. This tagline will be "Djokovic denied," but it ought to be "Medvedev won." He stepped into this crucible of pressure and delivered the match of his life.
The second semifinal gets going at approximately 7 p.m. #1 Novak Djokovic will face #4 Alexander Zverev. Djokovic is a -255 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook while Zverev is a +205 underdog. Djokovic has gone four sets in all but one of his matches this tournament, and interestingly enough, has lost the opening set three straight matches before sweeping the next three sets in each match. He beat #6 Matteo Berrettini in the quarterfinals.
Zverev has lost one set in the tournament and is coming off a straight sets win over Lloyd Harris in the quarterfinals. Both Dylan Alcott and Diede de Groot achieved the Golden Slam in wheelchair quad singles and wheelchair women's singles, respectively, by winning all four majors and the Paralympics in 2021. Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid also achieved the Grand Slam in wheelchair men's doubles by winning all four majors in 2021.
Novak Djokovic failed to complete a Grand Slam in men's singles, as he lost to Medvedev in the final. • Alexander Zverev will—to use tennis's most voguish term—have considerable scar tissue from this event. In the fifth set of last year's U.S Open final, he failed to serve out the title. This year, reached the semis, hung with Djokovic for four sets, and then played "super ungreat" in the decisive interval.
Small consolation but it spares the tennis the awkwardness of crowning a major champion as he faces domestic violence allegations. But at age 34, Djokovic has proved himself to be a long-running champion, one of the most successful in the game's history. If he wins six more matches in New York, he will break his tie with his longtime rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by claiming a men's record 21st career Grand Slam singles title. "What you accomplished this year and throughout your career, I never said this to anybody but I will say it right now, for me you are the greatest tennis player in the history." Daniil Medvedev won the first major championship of his career in stunning fashion, defeating world No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the 2021 U.S.
The upset victory denied Djokovic a chance at winning the first calendar-year Grand Slam in men's singles tennis since 1969. How often have we seen Novak Djokovic double fault in a major final? Even for a player who has dropped the first set in each of his past four matches, that was a bit of a shaky start from the 20-time Grand Slam champion. The US Open bears little resemblance to the tournament started in 1881. We discussed the state of the women's game in our preview piece several weeks ago (be easy on us if you spot our semifinals predictions as they're woefully off).
The women's game has been a complete toss-up at every major tournament this season and at least far as a national audience goes, we've seen several new faces in the quarters and semis . The narrative in women's tennis is that it's wide open and your 2021 US Open finalists prove that in spades. After an eerie 2020 tournament that saw just 100 people it attendance to watch Naomi Osaka claim the title over Victoria Azarenka, this was something very special. The world No. 2's first career Grand Slam title not only ended Djokovic's chance at the calendar Grand Slam but also kept him tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal at 20 career major wins. The "Big 3" are tied atop the men's singles all-time leaderboard.
The tournament was an event run by the International Tennis Federation and part of the 2021 ATP Tour and the 2021 WTA Tour calendars under the Grand Slam category. The tournament consisted of both men's and women's singles and doubles draws, as both doubles draws returned to the standard 64 players, and singles players remained in standard 128-person format in each category. There were also singles and doubles events for both boys and girls . By defeating world No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round, Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest player to beat a top 3 ranked-player at the US Open men's singles since the inception of the ATP Rankings in 1973.
He also became the youngest player to reach the quarterfinals of any major men's singles tournament since Michael Chang at the 1989 French Open and the youngest to do so at the US Open in the Open Era. Félix Auger-Aliassime became the first player born in the 2000s to reach a major semifinal. The Russian isn't passive during the next rally, pulling the trigger on a forehand on the charge and unleashes a fist pump to try and win over some of the fans on Arthur Ashe. But what a time for Djokovic to pull out a big first serve, a monster at 124mph out wide. He backs it up with an ace to switch the game to advantage. Medvedev temporarily hangs around, but he's given the run around by the world No 1, who brings up another game point.
This time he gets over the line and edges back in front this set. • He didn't make history and will be profoundly disappointed by failing in his 28th match. But let's pause and acknowledge what Djokovic pulled off this year. No other player since Rod Laver even put himself in this position.
Surfaces, conditions, times of day, opponents. And the Australian Open (COVID-19 willing) is next on the calendar. But it's hard to conceive of a more extraordinary/joyous/unlikely tennis moment than Emma Raducanu winning the 2021 U.S. It's not simply that she is 18 or had to qualify or didn't drop a set.
Two months ago, she wasn't among the top 10 players in her own country. One month she was playing—and not winning—a challenger event in Landisville, Pa. What an endorsement for the wonderful, weird unpredictability of sports.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is Medvedev's biggest threat to reach the final. The Canadian plays the men's singles night match on Ashe against American Frances Tiafoe. Aryna Sabalenka was on the court for a much shorter amount of time than Van de Zandschulp and Fernandez. The women's No. 2 seed controlled both of her sets against Elise Mertens to reinforce her standing as the top player left in the women's singles draw. The 6-foot-6 Cressy hit 44 aces, and his swashbuckling victory required him to save four match points in the final-set tiebreaker before prevailing 5-7, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 .
The semifinals opened with #2 Daniil Medvedev over #12 Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets. Medvedev was a -650 favorite at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Auger-Aliassime came in at a +450 underdog. Medvedev has cruised to the final, losing one set in the quarterfinals but winning in straight sets every against the other five opponents.
Auger-Aliassime had gone at least four sets in three of his four other matches after his quarterfinal against unseeded Carlos Alcaraz ended with a walkover. The crowd is starting to get behind Djokovic — it wants a five-setter? — as he gets three break-point opportunities. Medvedev gets two back thanks to a great forehand approach shot winner and an ace. He staves off the third one as Djokovic hits a slice backhand into the net for deuce. Ace No. 10 and another serve down the T that Djokovic can't return on the court levels the set for Medvedev.
It has been 33 years since a singles player won all four Grand Slam events in a season. The last to do it was Graf in 1988; the last man was Rod Laver in 1969. Since Graf, there was just Serena Williams in 2015, but she lost in the US Open semifinals to unseeded Roberta Vinci. Williams and Djokovic are one of six players to win the first three majors in a tennis season in the Open Era; just three won in Flushing.
Dominic Thiem and Naomi Osaka were the men's and women's singles defending champions. However, Thiem withdrew from the tournament due to a wrist injury causing him to end his season early. Osaka lost in the third round to Leylah Fernandez.
Emma Raducanu arrived in New York City having played in only one previous Grand Slam event. Not only that, but she also rolled through the tournament without dropping a set. There is more than just the calendar grand slam at play, with the 34-year-old tantalisingly close to landing a record 21st major to move past Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal. Daniil Medvedev defeated Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the US Open final to win his maiden Grand Slam title.
Medvedev is trying to return to the US Open final, where he lost to Nadal in 2019. The Russian was beaten in straight sets by eventual champion Dominic Thiem last year in the semi-finals. Sakkari and Pliskova split their previous two tour-level matches. Pliskova, the No. 4 seed from the Czech Republic, is a former world No. 1. She was the Wimbledon runner-up this year, losing a three-set final to Ashleigh Barty, and she has never won a Grand Slam event singles title.
Daniil Medvedev reacts after scoring a point against Novak Djokovic during the men's singles final of the US Open tennis championships. Raducanu, 18, defeated Shelby Rogers in straight sets to reach the final eight in only her second ever Grand Slam appearance and dazzle once again - but then joked that her parents 'ghosted' her. The 18-year-old achieved what was an unprecedented feat, winning 10 matches at the tournament after coming through qualifying, all of them in straight sets, to take home the main prize. Don't be surprised if he drops the first set before rebounding Sunday — he's done it in every one of his matches at the U.S. Medvedev will be playing in his third major final and should rely on his deep arsenal of shots to get Djokovic moving around the court and overthinking his game.
Djokovic is the best defender in men's tennis, with the best return, and he will need it against one of the more diabolical players on tour. Open final having won 14 of his last 15 matches and has a fairly solid history against the Serbian champion — or, about as solid as one can have against Djokovic if your name isn't Nadal or Federer — to lean on. The Russian has never beaten Djokovic in a best-of-five set match but he has bested him three times in best-of-three set bouts. And Medvedev is never better than when he's on hard court.
Less than seven months earlier, Djokovic had routed Medvedev in straight sets to claim the Australian Open title and his 18th major, setting in motion this quest for the Grand Slam. That victory in Melbourne took less than two hours. It feels very much okay then, in this "new era" of men's tennis that the three of them would end up with 20 slams each for their career. We're a long ways off from that -- Djokovic is 34 and still at the top of his game. How ironic though that Djokovic finally got the love and affection from the fans that he has so desperately wanted his entire career, and it only came during the most painful loss of his life.
A loss that in theory could keep him on even ground with two other members of The Big Three. Medvedev captures his first-ever major title and he plays spoiler on Djokovic's chance at the Grand Slam. He's the first of his generation to beat any of The Big Three in a major final. A new era seems to be upon us on both the men's and women's side. The women's championship made history of its own when unseeded qualifier Emma Raducanu of Great Britain beat unseeded Leylah Fernandez of Canada.
It was the first time two unseeded players met in the final in the Open era and the first time a qualifier advanced to the championship, let alone won the event. She swept through the early stages of the match, dictating the play with her topspin forehand and smacking or slicing aces. But the endgame got complicated as Barty served for the match at 5-4 and double-faulted on break point. She and Zvonareva moved into a tiebreaker, and Barty had to save a set point at 6-7 with another good serve that set up a forehand winner. While there will be a significant amount of the sport's biggest stars sitting out, Novak Djokovic will be participating in the US Open.
Djokovic will be looking to pass Federer and Nadal for the most Grand Slam titles in history. Djokovic, Federer, and Nadal currently have 20 Grand Slam titles apiece. Djokovic earned his 20th Grand Slam title in July when he won at Wimbledon. With a win, Djokovic would also become the first male player to win the calendar year Grand Slam in the Open Era, after winning the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon this year. Djokovic was aiming to become the second man in the Open Era, after Rod Laver in 1969, to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam.
He was also attempting to win an outright record 21st major singles title to break a tie held with his Big Three counterparts, Federer and Rafael Nadal. How rare is it for somebody to win the U.S. Open women's singles title without dropping a set along the way? It hadn't happened since 2014, when Serena Williams did it, putting Raducanu in some pretty elite company. However, the Canadian proved to be a strong player throughout her tournament run.
