Daniil Medvedev did the unthinkable on Sunday – he stopped Novak Djokovic from completing the calendar year Grand Slam by defeating him in straight sets in the US Open final.
The world No 2 blocked his opponent’s path to becoming only the third men's player and the first since 1969 to win all four majors in the same season, by lifting a maiden Grand Slam trophy with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory.
The Russian proceeded to do the Fifa ‘dead fish’ celebration, dropping to his side onto the hard court of Arthur Ashe Stadium, his eyes closed and tongue out.
It was all very Medvedevian, from his uber-aggressive – borderline reckless – second serves, to his unorthodox shot-making that saw him out-rally Djokovic, to his comedic finale that required an explanation during the trophy ceremony – “Only legends will understand, but my celebration was L2 + Left".
Here’s how Medvedev snapped Djokovic’s 27-match winning streak at the majors.
Going all out on serve
Medvedev’s strategy entering the match was to be very aggressive on both his first and second serves, and he executed it almost flawlessly up until the last couple of games when he got tight trying to close out the victory.
His average first-serve speed en route to the final was 190kmph. On Sunday against Djokovic, it was 196.8kmph.
Despite Djokovic being one of the best returners in the history of the sport, Medvedev managed to win 81 per cent of his first-serve points, and 58 per cent of his second-serve points. The second seed saved five out of six break points he faced and fired 16 aces.
“About the risk on the second serve, it was because of the confidence I had,” said Medvedev after the win. “I knew I cannot give him easy serves because that's what he likes. So that was the plan. Because of the confidence in a lot of tight moments, I managed to do it well.”
His coach Gilles Cervara explained how they put extra emphasis on the serve during practice after the Tokyo Olympics and that the work they put in paid off.
“I felt the serve was not good enough like he did in the past, especially two years ago when he won so many matches. He won because his level on serve was very high. That’s what he needs to do,” said Cervara.
“We took more time to work on this shot. Like every day I got my goals in my practices to make him be at his best level on serve. With Daniil, when you work something at the good moment, on the good goal, then it works straightaway. We felt it straightaway in Toronto that the serve increase so much.”
‘Below par’ Djokovic had no legs
Djokovic entered the final having played five more sets and spent five hours and 35 minutes longer on court than Medvedev through six matches.
The world No 1 is usually relentless when it comes to long exchanges but won just seven of the 25 rallies that had nine or more shots against Medvedev. Djokovic was successful on his serve-and-volley points, winning 17/19, but was far less clinical at the net in general, going 31/47 overall up front.
“He came out very determined on the court. You could feel that he was just at highest of his abilities in every shot. He had a lot of clarity what he needs to do tactically. He has executed it perfectly. On the other hand, I was just below par with my game. My legs were not there. I was trying. I did my best. Yeah, I made a lot of unforced errors. I didn't have – no serve really,” said Djokovic.
Medvedev’s motivation was sky-high
After losing badly to Djokovic in the Australian Open final earlier this year, Medvedev knew he had to do something different to have any chance in Sunday's final.
“After the final in Australia, we had the feeling that Daniil didn't have this fire that can help your game to be much stronger, especially against a player like Novak. So this had to change for sure to play this final at another level,” said Cervara.
The key was upping his energy, which was greatly aided by competing in front of a rowdy New York crowd. Even though most of the fans were cheering for Djokovic on Sunday, Medvedev is an expert at using that kind of atmosphere to his advantage, and it only added fuel to the fire within him, just like it did when the crowd turned against him in 2019.
“I want to thank you guys. Today maybe it was a little bit more for Novak but that’s completely understandable. Throughout the week you gave me a lot of energy, starting from 2019 long ago, it helped me until today. It wasn’t easy but thanks a lot guys,” Medvedev said on court.
Djokovic mentally spent
There were no eruptions, no screams of frustration, and no growling towards the box from Djokovic on Sunday. Barring one broken racquet, the Serb was fairly subdued throughout the fina, and the pressure on his shoulders was palpable. There is a reason why no man has completed the Grand Slam since Rod Laver in 1969: It is a monumentally difficult feat to achieve, even for a mental beast like Djokovic.
The 34-year-old Serb acknowledged he felt emotionally drained and said his predominant feeling while sitting on court after the loss was “relief”.
“I was glad it was over because the buildup for this tournament and everything that mentally, emotionally I had to deal with throughout the tournament in the last couple of weeks was just a lot. It was a lot to handle,” he added. “I was just glad that finally the run is over.
“It was also emotionally a very demanding period for me in the last five, six months. Slams and Olympics and playing at home in Belgrade. Everything was coming together for me here and kind of accumulating all the emotions that I've been through.”
CREW
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At Eternity’s Gate
Director: Julian Schnabel
Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen
Three stars
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'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Director: Jon Favreau
Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver
Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
