The 2021 US open tennis tournament showcased a bunch of rising stars breaking through both on the men’s and women’s side. It was nice to see packed crowds at the US open again. The return of the spectators brought back an exciting and electric atmosphere. The Men’s final marked a historic attempt for achieving something that hasn’t been achieved since 1969 called the Calendar Grand slam. The Calendar Grand Slam is when you win all 4 major tournaments (Australian open, French open, Wimbledon, and US open) in the same year. This was what Novak Djokovic was going for as he already won the Australian open, French open, and Wimbledon this year.
It was clear at the beginning of the match Djokovic was nervous and fatigued while the 6ft 6 Russian star Daniil Medvedev was energized and controlling the long rallies. Medvedev put on a dominant performance winning 80% of his first serve points and 35 % of receive points won. What was surprising was how Medvedev dominated the long rallies where many would have thought Djokovic would’ve had the edge. The 6ft 6 Russian also put on a phenomenal serving display by consistently winning cheap points on his first serve.
Overall, Daniil Medvedev played a clean match denying history of the calendar grand slam being achieved, while Djokovic on the other hand looked out of sorts. It looked like Djokovic was fatigued possibly due to playing 3 tight matches to get to the final. Djokovic also showed his human side as he was feeling the pressure of achieving the Calendar Grand Slam which is something that has not been achieved in 52 years. This loss drained Novak mentally and it’s highly questionable at age 34 he will have another crack to achieve this milestone due to a strong group of younger players on the rise. This match may be a sign of the next generation of players taking over in the major tournaments as the big 3 (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal) are getting older and it’s only a matter of time how much longer they are going to be playing. Men’s tennis is at a high point where upcoming players are starting to break through and produce consistent results. It is only a matter of time when the younger generation of players like Medvedev will be on top of the game and possibly chase new records of their own.