Novak Djokovic climbs ‘Mount 24’ to equal Margaret Court’s record at US Open
Novak Djokovic beats Daniil Medvedev in the final in straight sets to win the 2023 US Open.
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Novak Djokovic (Image via Imago)
Novak Djokovic kept his date with destiny. On a packed Sunday night in front of a sell-out crowd at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in vibrant New York, the 36-year-old produced a performance that may not have been the best. Yet, for a man who is in the business of writing, erasing, rewriting, and then publishing tennis records, winning a historic 24th Grand Slam singles was momentous.
This was the date many had been waiting for years. Maybe, this was the number, 24, to which Serena Williams should have actually got and equalled Margaret Court. There is a big deal and difference between men’s and women’s tennis even today, despite pay parity. Novak has had to labor hard, in pain sometimes, to give millions of fans joy.
That he had to rewrite history in the United States of America, a country that had “banned” him for over two years over the no-vax deal was poetic justice. Novak refused the COVID-19 vaccine, something personal he has said. Yet, if he needed anti-virus software and hardware in his own game in head and heart, he produced it in the season’s last Major.
The United States of America has many brilliant brains working in writing software for computers but if in tennis there is one man whose mind works at the speed of super-fast processors and then finds solutions, it has to be Novak Djokovic. To beat Daniil Medvedev, all arms and legs needed, skill, will, and eventually thrill for the audience. The stands were packed to the rafters and Novak was half in meditation, half in slow motion. Yet, when he had to wake up and find the right tennis shots, he was the maestro.
Tennis matches are won as much on the hard courts as in the heart and head. There is no doubting the fact that this man Novak has the grit and mindset to bottle up all problems, Novak is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). At 36 years plus, when he tries to trick fans by saying he may be playing his last few Grand Slams, he may be honest. Yet, in that honesty, what he has done and continues to do is produce performances that will be of the highest order.
Novak Djokovic humbles Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final
There are times when you do not perform brilliantly in exams and still top the class. Sunday night was a Novak master class, maybe not in terms of shot production in superiority but showing his hunger and ability to tame the tall Russian. Medvedev stands tall, almost like a human on a ladder at six feet and six inches. It allows him to motor the perimeters of the tennis court with seemingly more ease.
Yet, tennis court coverage is not robotic. This is where the shrewd Serbian showed pluck and punch. For sheer variety, without getting into match stat details, the approach shots from Novak as variety and then closing out points at the net worked for Novak Djokovic. It is alright to do so much stuff on grass. Dude, this was hard courts of blue hue against a mountain called Medvedev. It required skills and cunning to outwit Medvedev. If not, in some rallies where the exchanges were going into 31 shots for a single point, the tennis fan could have landed with a neck sprain!
No, not Novak. Like fine wine which mellows with age, Novak turned on the heat in the second set tie-break. A spluttering jalopy had turned into a fine-tuned Ferrari, and an aging horse was ready to win the Derby, that’s Novak Djokovic. Did he ask for love from the stands? Yes, he did. Did New Yorkers go into raptures? Yes, they did. Covid is forgotten, Novak is forgiven, and here is the Lord and Master of the tennis courts atop the Mount Everest of tennis. Geographically it may be away from the Himalayas but in terms of pinning the point as the pinnacle on the global map, Novak has made New York a memorable spot and venue.
History will judge Novak in many ways. Yet, on Sunday evening in New York and night in Europe, and good morning in Australia, tennis fans clapped, cheered, and celebrated. Salute Novak Djokovic, an unstoppable man and machine who has crafted history that will be read for decades to come. His body is tired, his legs may look weak in rallies, and his serve may not be that potent. If reaching the 24th Grand Slam title was like finishing a marathon, he has done it!
Cheers Novak, the tennis world is at your feet. Please stop the GOAT debate on all forums!
Read further: ‘Frustrated’ Novak Djokovic lashes out at chair umpire after a ‘let’ call while cramping against Daniil Medvedev at US Open
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S Kannan
(382 Articles Published)