It was a hot and tumultuous journey, a slalom among the Covid cases (Jabeur’s cry “I feel like a zombie” sums up the effects of the virus well), the fainting spells from the humidity and the controversy over the closed/open roof that that literary character who escaped from the pages of Ivan Goncarov who goes by the name of Daniil Medvedev was relaunched worldwide during the Russian derby with Rublev. Change of focus, haunted look into the camera: «When one of us dies, you will understand…». However the affair between Djokovic and Medvedev ends, Sunday night on the Flushing center court, it will be deja vu.
It was an absolute first, however, the victory of Cori Gauff known as Coco, 19 years old, the predestined capable of taking advantage of the 46 amnesias (as many as the gratuitous errors) of the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, starting tomorrow no.1 but without a crown. In three very ugly sets, the child of pays for whom Barack and Michelle Obama and the VIPs of half of New York bothered, first collected like Antuofermo and then counterattacked an opponent in total confusion, bringing the title back to the USA in the wake of Serena Williams, six years after Sloane Stephens (2017).
Djokovic sends the message to sailors that 36 years is the new 26, he makes the Grand Slam of seasonal finals (two won), tries to ennoble his return to number one in the ranking with the 24th Major, he is still there fighting while the youngsters, Sinner and the reigning champion Alcaraz, 42 years old between them, are in dry dock, both forced to miss the Davis Cup qualifiers due to overload from the US Open, the tournament that wears out those who go. Djoker’s rival is the same Medvedev who in 2021 prevented him from the Grand Slam, the third final in New York in five years because it is on American hard courts that the man from Moscow exalts himself, possibly with the whole public against him (there are quite a few, on Arthur Ashe: 23,771), the war between Daniil and America in the past has touched extraordinary peaks of comedy, from the middle finger to “the more you boo me, the more I get angry”; the imitation of Alcaraz, beaten in the semi-final against predictions by inventing new angles with his crooked and asymmetrical tennis, is the gem of this edition.
The more the new generation works hard to keep up with him, the more Djokovic widens his compass, to those who say that Alcaraz won last year because he wasn’t there (the usual vaccine problems). Carlito responded last July at Wimbledon , the return in style of Zverev (Sinner knows something about it) and the counterattack of the United States (eliminated Fritz and Shelton, the revelation of the tournament, a 20-year-old left-handed and raw talent, whose celebration was stolen by Djoker by miming the telephone receiver with ruthless lucidity) were not enough to derail the Belgrade train, headed towards immortality. Medvedev knows how Djokovic fights, two sets left to Djere in the third round before committing to a copyright comeback, he is 5-9 behind in the direct matches but he has a positive memory of the last one at Slam level and the last one in order of time (Dubai, but two out of three), certainly in favor of the Serbian they weigh 23 Majors to one but if there is an extravagant guy capable of subverting the established order it is Oblomov, who finally got up from the sofa.