[Source: Reuters]

Novak Djokovic against Daniil Medvedev in the U.S. Open men’s final may not have been the showdown fans were dreaming of but it could still bring the Grand Slam season to a spellbinding conclusion on Sunday.

For weeks the tennis world was buzzing about seeing the red-hot rivalry between Djokovic and holder Carlos Alcaraz in the Flushing Meadows final until Medvedev played the spoiler with a brilliant 7-6(3) 6-1 3-6 6-3 semi-final win over the Spaniard.

But what a final between former U.S. Open champion Medvedev and three-time winner Djokovic may lack in pizzazz it more than makes up for in pure quality with the world’s two best hard-court players going toe-to-toe at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The contest also comes with some spicy subplots as Djokovic hunts a fourth U.S. Open that would see him equal Margaret Court’s record haul of 24 Grand Slams and, along with it, a good measure of revenge against Medvedev.

On Sunday the Serb will look across the net at the same man standing between him and history as he did two years ago.

The last time Djokovic and Medvedev clashed at the U.S. Open was in 2021 final, when the Russian captured his only major so far and denied the Serb a rare calendar Grand Slam.

It is a loss Djokovic has not forgotten and has learned from.

Medvedev and Djokovic have both been tested en route to the final.

Second seed Djokovic, 36, fought back from two sets down to beat fellow Serb Laslo Djere in the third round but did not drop another set on the way to his 10th U.S. Open final.

Medvedev has spent much of time working the graveyard shift at Flushing Meadows with several of his matches starting late in the evening one day and finishing in the next.

The third seed’s toughest physical test came in the quarter-finals when he beat his daughter’s godfather Andrey Rublev in straight sets in brutal heat and humidity.

Medvedev said he had to raise his level to 12 out of 10 in the semi-finals to dethrone Alcaraz and would need to do the same or better against Djokovic.

While Djokovic and Medvedev are compelling figures, neither has been fully embraced by the New York crowds they have so desperately courted.

Not long ago Medvedev was Flushing Meadows’ public enemy number one for his on-court antics that included giving the crowd the finger during a 2019 match.

Over the years Djokovic has had a love/hate relationship with New Yorkers that reached a low point during a 2020 match when he in a fit of frustration he inadvertently hit a line judge in the throat with a ball and was disqualified.

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