Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev entered the 2021 US Open as the world's two best players. Now, they'll enter Sunday's final as the world watches, with tennis history on the line.
In his quest for the Grand Slam, and record major singles title No. 21, Djokovic faced his toughest test of the fortnight in Alexander Zverev. The German dented Djokovic's rock-solid resistance throughout the night, but could not land a knockout blow in this heavyweight bout. Only Medvedev can stop the 21-count now, after he saved set points on the way to a three-set win over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Opening the day in Arthur Ashe Stadium, the first 2021 US Open trophy was handed out to men's doubles champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
The US Open Wheelchair Competition presented by Deloitte also progressed towards the title rounds, while four finals are set in the US Open Junior Championships after Friday's play.
Djokovic goes the distance: This was a marathon match in many ways—and not just because it ran its course over five sets and three-and-a-half hours. Its average rally length of 5.29 balls ranks was among the Top 10 for the men's tournament.
After four sets of drama, Djokovic sprinted away down the stretch, taking a 5-0 lead in the fifth set before crossing the finish line a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 winner.
The decisive game of the third set was the match in microcosm. In one of the most intriguing non-deuce games you'll ever see, Djokovic broke for the set after rallies of 18, 32, 12, 21, 53 and 16 balls. The 53-shot rally played out like a boxing match, with both fighters feeling each other out and attempting an occassional haymaker through measured defense. Zverev ultimately scored a knockdown with a forehand winner, but Djokovic got off the canvas to deliver a third-set KO, smashing an overhead at the bell on set point
The German answered admirably in the fourth, but it was no contest in the fifth. A drop-shot-passing-shot combo ended a 30-ball rally to give Djokovic the break, and the Serb never looked back. Now he can look forward to Sunday's meeting with Medvedev, who must have been loving the punishing rallies in the second semifinal.
Medvedev returns to final: The world No. 2 reached his second US Open final with another clinical victory, this one in straight sets over Auger-Aliassime, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.
Medvedev used a string of 12 straight points to take control of the opening set, but faced two set points in the second as the Canadian looked set to level. Instead, the Russian ran off five straight games—including 11 straight points—to turn a 5-2 defecit into a devastating 7-5 set. Auger-Aliassime would never recover, as Medvedev finished by winning 11 of the final 13 games.
"Strange match a little bit in the second set," he said on-court. "I think everybody felt that it's going to be one set all, and then you never know where the match is going to go."
He pointed to those saved set points as the obvious turning point.
"I managed to save the set points... and the match turned around completely," he said. "I don't think I played my best today, but I'm really happy to be in the final on Sunday."
Our first champions: Ram and Salisbury claimed the first trophy on offer this fortnight by coming from behind to beat 2016 champions Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. It was a second Grand Slam title for the champs, after their triumph at the 2020 Australian Open.
After winning four tiebreaks to get to the final, the winning duo got it done early in sets two and three to finish the job.
Montgomery on course for junior sweep: American Robin Montgomery notched three wins on Friday—one in singles, two in doubles—to book her place in both junior girls' finals. The 17-year-old lefty battled back to defeat unseeded Argentinian Solana Sierra. She'll face Kristina Dmitruk in the final.
After Thursday's rain, both the quarterfinals and semis of the junior doubles we played on Friday. Montgomery went 2-0 with partner Ashlyn Krueger, as did another American duo in Reese Brantmeier and Elvina Kalieva
Wheelchair Golden Slams: A pair of Golden Slam bids got one step closer on Thursday, as women's top seed Diede de Groot and quad No. 1 Dylan Alcott advanced. De Groot is through to the women's final, where she'll face longtime rival and world No. 2 Yui Kamiji. In the quad draw, Alcott got his campaign off to a winning start with a win over American Bryan Barten in the quarterfinal round.
As it Happened: Relive Day 12 with our blog, Live at the Open.
Quote of the Day: "It's never easy, but I'm happy that I managed to save a lot of physical abilities, physical power, and mental power. For sure, I mean, I don't think anybody is capable of winning a Slam after playing, let's say, first three rounds, five sets. I doubt this ever happened. So this is important. I'm really happy I managed to make it kind of fast." — Medvedev on his relatively straighforward path to the final. He's spent just 11 hours, 51 minutes on court in his six matches, compared to 17 hours, 26 minutes for Djokovic.
Tweet of the Day: Celebrities in attendance for Friday's evening session included Jimmy Butler, Jane Krakowski, Allesandro Nivola and Paris Hilton.
Photo of the Day: Rod Laver, the only man to win a Grand Slam (1969), was on hand to watch Novak Djokovic's quest to match him.
