CNN — Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in straight sets in the US Open women’s singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York. This marks Swiatek’s
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Novak Djokovic won the US Open on Sunday, defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in the men’s final to extend his record grand slam singles titles to 24.
The world No. 2 further cemented himself as one of the greatest tennis players ever – with Sunday’s win, he matches Margaret Court’s record for most all-time grand slam titles.
In a rematch of the 2021 US Open final, the Serbian avenged his loss to No. 3 seed Medvedev at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York to complete his triumphant return to the United States.
“It obviously means the world to me,” Djokovic said after the match. “I’m really living my childhood dream to compete at the highest level in the sport that has given me and my family so much.”
Playing in front of a who’s who crowd, Djokovic was in his usual dominant form in the first set, never facing a break point, while hitting 12 winners in nine games. Entering Sunday’s final, Djokovic was 72-1 all-time at the US Open when winning the first set, with his only loss coming to Stan Wawrinka in the 2016 final.
The second set proved to be more competitive, as Djokovic and Medvedev exchanged games in a nail-biting back and forth, culminating in the Serb’s 7-5 tiebreak victory after an hour and 45 minutes.
From there, with the momentum in his favor and a fourth US Open title a set away, Djokovic cruised to victory, needing only one championship point to seal the historic title.
With the victory, the 36-year-old becomes oldest man to win the US Open singles title in the Open era and the first man to win three grand slam titles in a season for the fourth time – previously doing so in 2011, 2015 and 2021.
Djokovic also extends his lead over Spaniard Rafael Nadal (22) and Switzerland’s Roger Federer (20) for most men’s singles titles of all time.
“To make history of this sport is truly remarkable and special in every possible and every possible meaning of the word special,” Djokovic said.
Sitting in the front row during the game was Djokovic’s six-year daughter, he said during a news conference after the match, sharing with reporters that she would smile at him when he needed her energy most.
It was important to him that his daughter – as well as his nine-year-old son – got to experience their father win when they were old enough to understand the victory, he said.
And as for what keeps him going, Djokovic said: “I don’t want to leave the sport if I’m still playing at the top.”
After his win, an emotional Djokovic momentarily dropped to his hands and knees before walking toward his family in the stands to celebrate.
When he returned to the court, Djokovic honored the late NBA superstar Kobe Bryant by changing into a blue shirt bearing a photo of himself and the Lakers legend with the words “Mamba Forever” emblazoned on the front, and the number on the back. Bryant wore the number 24 in the second half of his professional basketball career.
“I thought it could be a nice symbolic thing to acknowledge him,” said Djokovic, who considered Bryant a close friend.
“We chatted a lot about the winner’s mentality when I was struggling with the injury and trying to make my comeback, work my way back to the top of the game,” Djokovic said of his relationship with Bryant.
“He was one of the people that I rely on the most. He was always there for any kind of counsel, advice, any kind of support in the most friendly way.”
At every grand slam this year, Djokovic had an opportunity to make history.
He drew level with Rafael Nadal’s 22 grand slam titles at the Australian Open, pulled clear with a men’s record 23 grand slam titles at the French Open and was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.
The Serb will have an opportunity to pass Court and etch his name as the all-time winningest player at the Australian Open in January 2024.
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CNN
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Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek defeated Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur in straight sets in the US Open women’s singles final at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, New York.
This marks Swiatek’s third career grand slam, and her first outside of the French Open, which she won in 2020 and 2022.
Swiatek cemented her place atop the world rankings with the 6-2 7-6 (7-5) win over Jabeur, who is ranked fifth in the world, but is expected to ascend to world No. 2 when the new rankings are unveiled.
As she has been doing the last several months, Swiatek wore a ribbon on her hat in support of Ukraine during the final Saturday.
The 21-year-old is the first woman since Angelique Kerber in 2016 to win two grand slam titles in the same calendar year, during which she embarked on a 37-match unbeaten run.
“For now, I’m just trying to do my best every day,” Swiatek told CNN Sport’s Carolyn Manno following the win against Jabeur. “It’s hard to step back and look at the whole journey at once because I’m still 21. I feel like with more life experience I’ll realize more what happened.”
Swiatek’s triumph makes her the first top-seeded woman to win the US Open since Serena Williams lifted the trophy in 2014, and the first woman to win seven titles in a season since Williams, also in 2014.
She has expertly adapted her game to the hard courts in 2022, winning four WTA 1000 events on the surface and becoming only the fourth woman in history to complete the “Sunshine Double” by winning Indian Wells and Miami back-to-back.
Those titles, as well as her second French Open crown, came during her remarkable unbeaten streak earlier in the season, which finally came to an end in the third round at Wimbledon.
However, Swiatek has certainly struggled to recapture that form during the second half of the season and her involvement in the US Open final was by no means a formality before the tournament started.
She struggled through her semifinal, too, fighting back from a set down and 4-2 down in the deciding set against sixth seed Aryna Sabalenka in a match that took more than two hours to complete.
“These two weeks were pretty crazy, I wasn’t expecting to be in that place,” said Swiatek. “I worked pretty hard every day to just get a better feeling on the court and I’m pretty happy that it clicked.
“I feel like I was improving, so that’s the best thing for me. I’m pretty happy that it ended like that.”
Swiatek raced into a 3-0 lead against Jabeur and needed just 30 minutes to wrap up the first set, during which she landed a remarkable 90% of her first serves.
The second set was a closer affair, even though Swiatek stormed into a 3-0 lead once again. Jabeur hit back with two breaks, sending the match to a tie break, but Swiatek ultimately proved too strong.
“She came off really strong and put a lot of pressure on me. That didn’t help,” Jabeur told reporters. “I was trying to get in the match. It was very tough. And she was playing really good at certain times.”
Jabeur, who became the first African woman to compete in a US Open final, reached the Wimbledon final just two months ago, but was surprisingly beaten by Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina in three sets.
She has enjoyed a steady rise through the world rankings over the past two years, but a grand slam title continues to allude her.
“Definitely Wimbledon was tough. This one is going to be tough,” she said. “I struggled to win my first WTA title. It took me time. So I believe this will take me time. The most important thing is accepting it, learning from the finals that I lost.
“I’m not someone that’s going to give up. I am sure I’m going to be in the final again. I will try my best to win it.”
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