Novak Djokovic a réussi là où même Steffi Graf et Serena Williams ont échoué: le Serbe a remporté dimanche 10 septembre à 36 ans son quatrième US Open et ainsi égalé le record absolu de titres du Grand Chelem établi en 1973 par Margaret Court. Graf s’est arrêtée à 22, comme Rafael Nadal, et Williams à 23.
Il l’a fait ! « Gagner Wimbledon était mon seul objectif quand j’étais enfant. Je n’aurais jamais imaginé être ici et parler de mon 24e« I cannot reword »e mondial) 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Novak Djokovic était devenu le joueur le plus titré en Grands Chelems chez les hommes lorsqu’il avait remporté son 23e titre à Roland-Garros en juin, dépassant ainsi Nadal. À 36 ans, il redevient N.1 mondial ce lundi et entamera une 390e semaine record à cette place. S’il avait tout prévu, vestes de survêtement floquées du numéro 24 pour lui et tous les membres de son box, t-shirt hommage à Kobe Bryant – le champion NBA décédé en 2020 dans un accident d’hélicoptère – avec lequel il était certain de faire un tabac auprès du public américain, il restait quand même à battre Medvedev.
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Celui-là même qui avait privé Djokovic en 2021 d’un des plus grands exploits sportifs: il l’avait battu en finale de l’US Open où le Serbe n’était plus qu’à trois sets de réussir le Grand Chelem calendaire, après avoir remporté les trois premiers Majeurs de la saison. Et si le Djoker avait été écrasé par le poids de l’histoire il y a deux ans, n’opposant qu’une faible résistance au Russe, dimanche les deux hommes se sont livrés un combat au plus haut niveau et sans pitié.
To the extent that both of them ended up on the ground during the match, more or less voluntarily, lying on their backs trying to catch their breath. Djokovic was also seen leaning on his knees several times to catch some air. And during the changeover after a grueling second set, Djokovic went out for his usual bathroom break and Medvedev took a medical timeout to get his left shoulder massaged on the court.
At the restart, the eldest seemed to want to go all out to avoid getting caught up in additional sets. So, with his characteristic humor, when receiving the runner-up trophy, Medvedev turned to his victorious opponent and asked, « But what are you still doing here? », referring to his age.
« Woahhh »
« I have twenty titles in my record and I consider myself to have had a successful career. You, on the other hand, have 24 Grand Slam titles… woahhh, » he added. He will always be able to blame himself – if he doesn’t, his coach Gilles Cervara will do it for him – for being so stubborn in his return position so far from the baseline. As a result, he allowed Djokovic to make serve and volley plays, which are not his specialty but still earned him twenty points with minimal effort, equivalent to five games! »
With this fourth US Open, Djokovic has become the first player to win four times three out of the four Majors in a season (2011, 2015, 2021, and 2023). He kissed his daughter at the edge of the court and then went up to the stands where he fell into the arms of actor Matthew McConaughey who was in his box, and then into the arms of his parents, son, and wife.
Then he came back down to the court and put on a t-shirt with the slogan « Mamba for ever » around a picture showing him next to the former NBA player. « I thought of making this t-shirt seven days ago, just in case I won. Kobe was a close friend. He was there for me when I wasn’t doing well. The number 24 is the number he wore when he became a legend of the NBA and the Lakers. So I thought it would be fitting today, » explained Djokovic. He too is now a legend.
