2021 U. S. Open Tennis Championships...ATP 2000...New York, New York

[stotty]

Medvedev now 3-1 up in third and happy to get careless here and there. He knows it's in the bag and that FAA has no answers...none whatsoever.

[stotty]

An easy win for Medvedev. It's been a easy US Open for him the way the draw has panned out. Should be fresh as a daisy for the final.

[stotty]

If you asked young Alcaraz what he thought would be the easiest to achieve: a calendar slam or winning 20 slam titles. He would probably say a calendar slam, and he’d be right. The spanner in the works in the current era has been Nadal. Had Nadal not been such a dominant force on clay, then Roger and Novak might well have won two calendar slams each by now. It's the player dynamics of a given era that govern everything.

[jthb1021]

Lockdown mode! Zverev won’t come to the net! Same fate as everyone else

[stroke]

Novak really squeezing. Classic lockdown mode.

[stroke]

Boa Constrictor.

[jthb1021]

Streaky serving from Zverev and the second serve demons came out! Maybe John Yandell will get a chance to give him a little more shoulder turn in that first move. Then he’d have a 98mph kicker he could count on in the big moments

[stotty]

There are four men in the top ten around 6'5'' or more. Novak (a mere 6'2") has just slain two of them with one more to go.

It's going to be an intriguing final to put it mildly. Novak stands on the precipice of what will make him the undisputed champion of champions whichever way you do the permutations. You have to believe he will be super nervous despite his vast experience and having seen Medvedev zoom through the draw like a stickman on steroids.

I missed the semi with Novak and Zverez but it seems, from the press reports, like it was a series of marathon rallies in the fourth that oozed the sap out of Zverev's resistance...and wobble in the second serve department early in the fifth. There is no room for error against Novak. Don't these upstarts know that by now.

[stroke]

Mary Carillo asked Jimmy Arias in that profound tone that only she can, when the match stats came up, "if you had to choose one thing there for the reason Novak won the match, what would it be?". Jimmy chuckled a bit and said it was because Zverv got tight in the 5th set. That was pretty much spot on.

[don_budge]

A message to Novak Djokovic...don_budge

Dear Novak,

As you stand on the precipice looking back at all that you've done. It comes down to this. Don't look back. Don't take your eye off the ball. I know you won't. It all pointed to this. Ever since I pronounced you "Meteoric". You can do it. That's all I'll say. You can do it...Son.

don_budge

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixbcvKCl4Jc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR_NwNR9vTc

"To think, I did all that. And may I say not in a shy way. Oh no. No, not me. I did it my way."

Good luck!

Play "My Way" on Apple Music

"My Way"

And now the end is near
So I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case of which I'm certain

I've lived a life that's full
I've traveled each and every byway
Oh, and more, much more than this
I did it my way

Regrets: I've had a few
But then again, too few to mention
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption

I planned each charted course
Each careful step along the byway
Oh, and more, much more than this
I did it my way

Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew
But through it all when there was doubt
I ate it up and spit it out
I faced it all and I stood tall
And did it my way

I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fails, my share of losing
And now as tears subside
I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way
Oh, no, no, not me
I did it my way

For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the words he truly feels
And not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way
The record shows I took the blows
And did it my way

[stroke]

Oddsmakers have Novak at -250, which has him as an implied probability of 71%+ of winning vs Medvedev, just a very slight stronger favorite than he was vs Zverev.

[stotty]

Oddsmakers have Novak at -250, which has him as an implied probability of 71%+ of winning vs Medvedev, just a very slight stronger favorite than he was vs Zverev.

I think Medvedev is the biggest threat to Novak's dominance. More than Rafa (who hasn't had a result against Novak on hard courts for yonks) or Roger would have been if they were in the tournament. Medvedev can keep Novak out there and that will be almost certainly be his plan B if plan A doesn't pan out well. That semi had to have taken it out of Novak at least a little bit and keeping him out there might be a path for Medvedev if it comes to it.

Today is the biggest match in tennis for 52 years. If Novak pulls it off, the great Rod Laver will almost certainly be there in the stadium to congratulate him. It's a big job for Novak. he's having to do it the hard way - first Berrettini, then Zverev and now Medvedev. That is not an easy draw.

A great ladies final yesterday. Serena will never keep up with those two at 40 years old. Better she hangs her rackets up right here and right now.

[stroke]

Copy that biggest match in a long long time. I would have never thought anyone would be on the cusp of a calender grand slam, not with all the player depth out there. As good as Lendl, Sampras, Roger. Rafa, and Novak are, I never thought any of them would be on the cusp of this. Oh, and by the way, throw in the going for all time leader in Majoys while he is at it. Massive pressure, but if anyone can cope, it is ol rope a dope, the Boa Constrictor.

[Julio K. Thompson]

Can't wait to see Novak lifting the trophy again. Come On Novak

[jthb1021]

Must see match for tennis fans for sure! This is more rare than winning the triple crown. Growing up watching tennis I didn’t think winning the grand slam could be done. He can totally do it, but Medvedev is much tougher mentally than Zverev and is playing at a level where he could totally win this match. Novak has had some lulls throughout the grand slams and this tournament. I wouldn’t recommend him going “walk about” in two sets and completely counting on winning the 5th. Daniil can “lock it down” as well…pressure is an interesting beast and it will likely make its presence known to Novak this afternoon. He has all the tools to handle it, but I can’t think of a match where more has been riding on the outcome. Calendar slam and #21 passing Roger and Rafa.
He also will have more crowd support today than he’s ever had which I think is an interesting twist.