Novak Djokovic won the U.S. Open on Sunday, defeating Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the men’s final to extend his record grand slam singles titles to 24.

The world No. 2 has 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 U.S. 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.

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, Djokovic cruised to victory.

With the victory, the 36-year-old becomes oldest man to win the U.S. 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.

Sitting in the front row during the game was Djokovic’s 6-year-old 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 9-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 24 on the back. (SD-Agencies)

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【至关重要】

zhìguān zhòngyào

mean the world

be exceptionally valued and important

【紧张激烈的】

jǐnzhāng jīliè de

nail-biting

very exciting or worrying

本周日，诺瓦克•德约科维奇在美国网球公开赛男子决赛中以6比3、7比6和6比3的比分击败丹尼尔•梅德韦杰夫后夺冠，赢得了创纪录的第24个大满贯单打冠军。

这位世界排名第二的选手进一步巩固了自己比肩史上最伟大网球手的地位。凭借周日的胜利，他追平了玛格丽特•考特保持的获大满贯冠军次数最多的纪录。

这场比赛重现了2021年的美网决赛，当年德约科维奇输给了3号种子梅德韦杰夫，而这次塞尔维亚人在纽约阿瑟•阿什球场成功复仇，完成了美网的胜利回归。

德约科维奇赛后说：“这对我来说意义重大。我实现了儿时梦想，在代表最高水平的赛场上拼杀，这项运动让我和家人获益匪浅。”

首盘比赛中，德约科维奇一如既往控制局面，不失一个发球局，在9局比赛中12次直接发球得分。第二盘竞争更加激烈，德约科维奇和梅德韦杰夫互保发球局，比分交替上升，最终塞尔维亚人在激战1小时45分钟后以7比5获胜。从那时起，德约科维奇乘胜追击轻松取胜。

凭借这场胜利，36岁的德约科维奇成为公开赛时代赢得美网单打冠军年龄最大的选手，也是首位第四次在一个赛季中赢得三个大满贯冠军的选手 —— 他曾在2011年、2015年和2021年获此佳绩。

德约科维奇还在男子单打冠军数量上超越了西班牙人纳达尔（22次）和瑞士的罗杰•费德勒（20次），成为史上夺冠王。

德约科维奇在赛后的新闻发布会上说，他6岁的女儿整场比赛中坐在前排，在他最需要能量的时候对他微笑。

德约科维奇说，让女儿和9岁的儿子看到自己赢得比赛很重要，因为他俩已足够大，能理解什么是胜利。

至于是什么让他坚持下来，德约科维奇说：“如果还能打顶级赛事，我就不想离开网球。”

夺冠后，情绪激动的德约科维奇跪倒在地，然后走向看台和家人庆祝。

回到球场后，他换上了一件印有自己和湖人球星科比•布莱恩特合影的蓝色球衣，球衣正面印着“永远的曼巴”，背面印着科比的号码24，以此向这位已故的NBA巨星致敬。(Translated by Debra)