Djokovic, roaring from a raucous crowd at Flushing Meadows, cried into his towel during the third set, tears still in his eyes as he stood at the baseline for the next game.
The praise for world No. 1 worked in stark contrast to the treatment of Russian Medvedev, who was forced to endure boos from the New York crowd as he worked for championship point.
Cheer could be heard amid the uproar at Arthur Ashe Stadium, with Medvedev winning his first major title at 40-15 in the third set.
The 25-year-old proceeded to double fault, which elicited gleeful roars among the New York crowd, but Medvedev quickly gathered himself to win the following point and secure the title.
When asked about the partisan atmosphere, Medvedev told CNN’s Carolyn Manno, “Wow, that was special.”
“As soon as we got on the court, it was different to all the matches I’ve played before. You thought it was a special, special night, special evening, for him and the crowd was going for him and they worked so hard for him. turn it on
“They certainly didn’t want to bother me intentionally, I doubt it, but of course before the second serve you get screams, you make a double mistake, and the whole crowd goes crazy – it’s really hard.” .
“I know I have to focus on myself and how I can win this match, and I managed to do that again, so that’s all that matters,” he said.
As he was constantly booed during his post-match interview, Medvedev waved his encouragement and told the crowd: “I won because of you.”
‘I’m sorry’: Medvedev feels for Djokovic as he cried
Djokovic has also been on the receiving end of jokes at the venue in the past, but this time there was only extreme love for the Serb.
During his victory over Roger Federer six years ago, Djokovic found himself the second favorite of the New York crowd, but roared all day in pursuit of a record 21st Grand Slam against Medvedev.
Sitting in his chair at 5-4 in the third set, a huge wave of encouragement saw an emotional Djokovic shed tears as he covered his face with his towel before returning to the baseline.
“I said sorry to him,” Medvedev told CNN when asked what he said to Djokovic at the nets after his win.
“Tennis is such a brutal sport – there are two people and one is going to lose whether it is the first round or the final.
“I always see Novak, Rafas [Nadal], roger [Federer] Play these finals and I think every time in a speech they feel sorry for their opponent because they know how it feels.
“I stopped Novak from doing something crazy and unbelievable in tennis history and I feel sorry for him.
“I’m happy for myself but I’m sorry for her, that’s what I said and yes, Novak is such a great person that she said I deserve everything and she really hugged me and it’s unbelievable.”
‘Pure happiness’ for Medvedev
Boos aside, a resounding victory marked a significant achievement for Medvedev, sweetening everyone with the pain of the two Grand Slam final losses that had happened before.
He reached his first US Open final two years ago in a five-set thriller against Rafael Nadal, before losing in straight sets to Djokovic in the Australian Open final in February.
Reversing the script in New York, Medvedev revealed that he had doubts before his first victory.
“It’s pure joy,” he told CNN.
“Being in the first two finals, losing against Rafa and Novak, incredible players. Coming into this, you always think: ‘Am I strong enough to stop Novak from taking the calendar Grand Slam?’
“I wasn’t playing my best but it destroyed me in Australia; I didn’t feel well afterwards, my confidence waned a bit.
“I’m really happy that I managed to give my best today. I managed to win in a match against one of the greatest players in straight sets, which was everything to him … It’s special.”
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