Daniil Medvedev of Russia clinched the championship trophy by defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the men’s singles final of the US Open Tennis Championships on Sunday, September 12, 2021.
Daniil Medvedev received congratulations from the Kremlin on Monday after ending Russia’s 16-year wait for the men’s Grand Slam title with a win over Novak Djokovic at the US Open.
President Vladimir Putin lauded the “great victory” in an official message of congratulation.
“On your way to the finals of this prestigious competition, you displayed the highest class of skill and perseverance in reaching your goals, and in the final match, you performed in a confident and collected manner, not leaving a chance to a strong and famous opponent.” Putin wrote. “That’s how the real champions play!”
After defeating Djokovic in Sunday’s final, Medvedev became the first Russian since Maria Sharapova in 2014 to win a major title, and the first Russian man since Marat Safin in 2005. It was a long wait for a country that was once proud of its strength. Depth in men’s rankings.
Medvedev faced the New York crowd who expected Djokovic to complete a historic calendar-year sweep of major titles. Some fans made fun of Medvedev’s victory.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was among those congratulating Medvedev, highlighting his warm words for Djokovic – whom Medvedev called “the greatest tennis player in history” – during the trophy presentation.
“I was impressed by Daniil Medvedev’s speech during the presentation. He spoke with such respect and honor about his opponent, paying tribute to the skill and achievements of Novak Djokovic, ”Zakharova wrote on Facebook.
New York’s raucous crowd angered some on Russian-language social media, but this was nothing new for Medvedev. He once said that he was overjoyed on his way to the 2019 final at the US Open, which he lost to Rafael Nadal in five sets.
Medvedev told state TV that he hoped his success would give a boost to Russian tennis.
“I am glad that I can win and that I have entered the history of Russian sport and tennis,” he said in comments broadcast on Monday. He said he now expected to see an All – Russian Slam final . “It is certainly possible that we can win the Davis Cup and a plethora of other team events. I hope tennis continues to rise in Russia.”
Between 1996 and 2005, the Russians won four men’s slam titles through Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Safin. After that, Safin, Nikolay Davydenko and Mikhail Youzhny reached the Slam semifinals, but did not play any other major finals.
As Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Djokovic dominated the scene, Russian men’s tennis quietly declined. For parts of 2015, there were no Russian players in the top 50 of the ATP Tour rankings.
Now there are two in the top five, Medvedev at No. 2 and Andrey Rublev at No. 5. Aslan Karatsev was a semifinalist at this year’s Australian Open and Karen Khachanov won an Olympic silver medal last month.
On Monday, Youzhny told Russian newspaper Sport Express that second-ranked Medvedev could still overtake Djokovic for No. 1.
“Given the level of his game and his results, he is one of the main candidates for first place in the rankings,” said Euseney.
.