Novak Djokovic has done it: With his 24th Grand Slam title, he equals tennis legend Margaret Court and thus makes sporting history.
Novak Djokovic has made tennis history at the US Open in New York. The Serb beat Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 in the final to win his 24th Grand Slam title. With this triumph he equals the Australian Margaret Court, who until now held the record for the most victories at the four biggest tennis tournaments in the world.
Margaret Court won her last Grand Slam title in 1973. 50 years later, Djokovic has now equalled the record, which Steffi Graf and Serena Williams, among others, had failed to achieve.
In the match against Medvedev, Djokovic converted his first match point after 3:17 hours and took his daughter Tara in his arms. Afterwards, his path led him to his wife Jelena and his parents Srdjan and Dijana. In the historic success, he was physically pushed to his limits, but dominated Medvedev with all his experience. Djokovic reached a Grand Slam final for the 36th time: a lonely record.
Djokovic replaces Alcaraz at the top
Australia, Paris, New York: Djokovic won three of the four biggest tennis tournaments worldwide this year. All he needed for the calendar Grand Slam, this historic task in professional tennis, was to win the final at Wimbledon. Djokovic had already come close once to this rare feat, which was last achieved by Rod Laver in 1969: in 2021, Medvedev prevented the completion of the winning streak in New York.
Now the revenge in the style of a demonstration of power: From the first rally, Djokovic left no doubt about his irrepressible will to win. He was tactically and mentally superior to Medvedev, who was nine years younger than him and had dethroned defending champion Carlos Alcaraz (Spain) in the semi-finals. At 36, Djokovic deservedly became the oldest US Open champion in professional tennis.
And thus underpinned his exceptional position, which is now also reflected in the world rankings: Djokovic replaces Alcaraz at number one, extending his record to 390 weeks at the top. He collected three million dollars for the victory and thus increases his career prize money to 175 million dollars – also a superlative, of course.
Many stars among the fans at the stadium
The almost 25,000 tennis fans in the gigantic Arthur Ashe Stadium, including stars like Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman and Justin Timberlake, had expected a thriller. After all, Medvedev had disenchanted Alcaraz and reminded the US audience of his three-set victory in 2021. This time, however, Djokovic found solutions, even if Medvedev seemed fresher and won the long rallies.
Boris Becker told sportdeutschland.tv that he was impressed by Djokovic’s serve-and-volley qualities and worried about his former protégé’s fitness. “Today he is really tired, the net attacks speak volumes,” Becker said. Djokovic was indeed reeling, fending off a set point and saving himself for the tiebreak – one of his many specialties.
Son Stefan was restlessly sliding back and forth on his chair in the box, but Dad had a plan and support from the fans. After two and a half hours, Djokovic was 2-0 sets ahead and Medvedev called the physiotherapist. The battle under the closed roof had also left its mark on the younger challenger. Djokovic did not allow himself to be deprived of the lead.