Daniil Medvedev has journeyed down this road before at the US Open.
Twice before, the 27-year-old has competed in a men's singles final at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. He fell just short in 2019 against Rafael Nadal, before breaking through two years later against Novak Djokovic to win his first Grand Slam crown.
On Sunday, Medvedev will again take on Djokovic in the New York final. Before turning his attention to that showdown, the third seed took a walk down memory lane, looking back at that 2021 title match.
"The strongest memory is the last serve, because I did some double faults, I think two or three double faults on the match points, on important points," Medvedev said.
"On 40-15 [I hit a] double fault and 40-30, [I thought] I have to make this serve and then play the point. I hit the serve. I kind of see, in my opinion, that it's done. I see him far from the ball and somehow he touches the ball and it almost went over. Oh my God. It didn't go over. That was a big memory."
Medvedev has found joy in making more US Open memories this fortnight on his way to another final. There was his comeback from a set down against Alex de Minaur in Round 4, his grueling win against Andrey Rublev—godfather to Medvedev's daughter—in the quarters, and the "12 out of 10" performance in the semis against Carlos Alcaraz.
In his 7-6(3), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win against defending champion Alcaraz, Medvedev—an avid gamer—pushed all the right buttons. He paired big serving with relentless baseline brilliance, upping his power to match that of the big-hitting Spaniard. On the return, Medvedev's deep positioning flummoxed his opponent, leading Alcaraz to attack the net with abandon.
The tactic worked to an extent, until Medvedev dipped a pair of returns at the charging Spaniard's feet to earn what proved to be the decisive break in the fourth set.
One thing is for sure: The repeated net attacks led to some highlight-reel points, thrilling the crowd in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
"I have to be honest, the crowd was absolutely unbelievable today, absolutely unbelievable, and I mean it," Medvedev said. "We had some crazy points, and I felt, let’s call it love to both sides."
Medvedev broke Alcaraz in a marathon, seven-deuce game to take a 4-2 lead in the fourth set.
"I managed to hit some amazing points," Medvedev said of what was the longest game of the match. "We were both pumping up the crowd, because the points were unbelievable.
"When I won it, I was, like, Let's go, try to finish the match."
The third seed did just that, but not before he navigated another epic game on his own serve. In the final game of the semifinal, he fought off three break points before punching his ticket to the title round with a booming overhead that bounced high up into the stands.
Medvedev's US Open journey will continue on Sunday against Djokovic, with the men's singles final set for a 4 p.m. start in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
