Tears and history dashed: When Novak Djokovic last played the US Open and saw Calendar Slam hopes ended

When Novak Djokovic last played the US Open in 2021 he declared himself “the happiest man alive”.

That was despite losing to Daniil Medvedev in straight sets in the final.

Despite seeing his chances of becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete the Calendar Slam flash by in just over two hours.

And despite being in tears even before the match had finished.

Next week Djokovic will return to New York for the first time since losing to Medvedev, having been unable to travel to the USA last season as he is unvaccinated against Covid-19.

There will again be history on the line this summer, although not as much as there was in 2021.

Djokovic has sometimes echoed Billie Jean King’s quote that ‘pressure is a privilege’, but so lofty was the pressure two years ago that Djokovic would admit a sense of relief after he had lost the final.

“I was glad it was over, because the build-up for this tournament, and everything mentally and emotionally I had to deal with throughout the tournament the last couple of weeks, was just a lot.”

Coming off a crushing defeat to Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympics, Djokovic was aiming to win his fourth Grand Slam of the season at the 2021 US Open.

At the Australian Open he had overcome a mid-tournament abdominal injury to lift the trophy again, at the French Open he had got the better of Rafael Nadal in the semis and then rallied from two sets down to win the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, and at Wimbledon he impressively held off the big-serving Matteo Berrettini in the final.

From the start nothing came easy for Djokovic in New York.

In the quarter-finals he came from a set down for the third successive match to beat Berrettini, and afterwards quickly brushed off Calendar Slam talk.

“You don’t have to ask me anything about that. I don’t want to think about it, I know it’s there, just focusing on the next match and let’s go step-by-step.”

The semi-finals pitted Djokovic against Alexander Zverev, who a month earlier had ended Djokovic’s Golden Slam hopes in the last four of the Olympics. This time it was Djokovic who came out on top, winning a brilliant five-set contest to move one win away from the Calendar Slam.

Zverev afterwards hailed Djokovic as “mentally the best player to ever play the game”, adding: “Mentally in the most important moments I would rather play against anybody else but him.”

Djokovic promised to treat the final “like it is the last match of my career.”

It must be noted at this point that Djokovic has a complicated history with the US Open.

In 2008 he was booed off court following comments he made about Andy Roddick following their quarter-final clash. In 2015 he overcame a heavily-partisan crowd to beat Roger Federer in the final. In 2019 he was again subjected to booing after retiring with an injury, and in 2020 he was defaulted from the tournament after hitting the ball towards a line judge. Even in the first round in 2021 Djokovic called it “not an ideal atmosphere for me” after the crowd chanted for Holger Rune.

Given all that had gone before it did not seem certain that Djokovic would have the full support of the Arthur Ashe crowd even as he looked to make history against Medvedev, but he did.

In a one-sided final defeat to Medvedev, Djokovic would finally feel the love from New York.

So much so that towards the end of the match he teared up during a changeover as fans urged him on. More tears would follow after the final ball had been hit.

Even in defeat Djokovic called it “just wonderful”.

“I felt something I never felt in my life here in New York. The crowd made me very special. They pleasantly surprised me. I did not know, I did not expect anything, but the amount of support and energy and love I got from the crowd was something that I’ll remember forever.

“I mean, that’s the reason on the changeover I just teared up. The emotion, the energy was so strong. I mean, it’s as strong as winning 21 Grand Slams. That’s how I felt, honestly. I felt very, very special.

“They touched my heart, honestly. Of course, in the end of the day you want to win. You’re a professional athlete. These are the kind of moments that you cherish. These are connections that you establish with people that will be lasting for a very long time.”

The match itself was decided by Medvedev’s brilliance and Djokovic not being able to counter, perhaps due to the occasion, perhaps because he had spent six hours more on the court at the tournament.

Djokovic would say afterwards his legs were “not there”, he had “no serve really”, and was “below par with everything”. He only broke serve once, while Medvedev set the tone for the contest by winning all 15 of his first-serve points in the opening set. He went on to fire down 16 aces in a commanding performance that sealed his first Grand Slam title.

That he prevented Djokovic making history did not pass Medvedev by.

“I stopped Novak from doing something crazy and unbelievable in tennis history and I do feel sorry for him. I’m happy for myself but I do feel sorry for him.”

As he has at most tournaments, Djokovic has battled to be loved at the US Open alongside two of the all-time great fan favourites in Federer and Nadal. After hearing the overwhelming crowd support for him against Medvedev it was not surprising that he was left with mixed emotions.

“I felt sadness, disappointment, and also gratitude for the crowd and for that special moment that they’ve created for me on the court.”

As he returns to New York this year, will Djokovic leave a happy man again?