Novak Djokovic vs Daniil Medvedev is a US Open final of two super-villains

Sunday’s US Open men’s final is a hard one to predict, not least when it comes to the crowd’s allegiances.

On the one hand, you have Novak Djokovic, the all-time legend who has just ousted successive Americans – and put 20-year-old Ben Shelton in his place on Friday with a pointed “hang up the phone” celebration.

On the other, there’s Daniil Medvedev, the eccentric Russian who has made a habit of baiting the New York fans. After his own semi-final win over Carlos Alcaraz, Medvedev told the on-court interviewer that “a thousand Spanish guys started screaming between first and second serves … They can go to sleep now”. As the 1980s legend Pam Shriver had told him during an earlier interview, “You’re a piece of work.”

Most neutrals had been expecting Alcaraz – a far more wholesome character – to defend his title here. Or at least to reach what would have been a highly marketable final against Djokovic, thus completing a trilogy of summer blockbusters after their recent classics at Wimbledon and Cincinnati.

Instead, this is like a Marvel movie where the studio forgot to book the hero, and ended up with a pair of supervillains instead.

The denouement is entirely in character for US Open, however, as this tournament always seems to throw up a surprise. We are talking about the slam where Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal both entered the draw on 14 occasions without ever facing each other on the court. In 2008, Nike even hired boxing promoter Don King to hype up this apparently inevitable showdown as “The Grapple in the Apple” – a hubristic gesture which backfired spectacularly.

While some fans may feel cheated by Friday’s turn of events, there is every reason to anticipate a fine match on Sunday. Medvedev beat Djokovic in straight sets in the 2021 final here, so he shouldn’t be overawed. And despite their shared prickliness, these are two fascinating, articulate and complex characters.

In Djokovic’s case, his phone gesture towards Shelton sparked much debate on social media. It was a direct imitation of the celebration that Shelton had employed in the previous round, after his victory over Frances Tiafoe. No wonder the handshake, which happened a few seconds later, was chillier than the ice-baths waiting in the locker-room.

Was the move strictly necessary? Of course it wasn’t. At the same time, though, it was dramatic, eye-catching and – most crucially – authentic. It expressed Djokovic’s combative, competitive side far more accurately than the saccharine version of himself that he has presented in the past, notably while performing the heart-throwing celebration that he used to save for the end of each match.

For all the great things Federer and Nadal did for tennis, their fraternal and comradely spirit isn’t necessarily the way forward for everyone. It suited their personalities because they were both motivated by positive emotions. Federer adores tennis and Nadal loves competition of any kind.

But the majority of players have to look elsewhere for their spark. They build their fire by feeding off critics, sceptics and any perceived disrespect from their opponents. Most successful athletes have a healthy sliver of darkness in them, and there’s nothing wrong with expressing that.

Now that Federer and Nadal are largely absent from the tour, the likes of Djokovic and Medvedev are finally relaxing and abandoning such saintly expectations. Friday’s semi-final was a good example. Shelton had been acting up, working the crowd enthusiastically and cupping his hand to his ear when he scored a couple of breaks in the third set. So why not give him a bit back?

Such actions show that Djokovic has reinvented his public persona as well as his tennis game of late. It is only four years since Nick Kyrgios told the No Challenges Remaining podcast that Djokovic had “a sick obsession with wanting to be liked. He just wants to be like Roger … This whole celebration thing that he does after matches, it’s like so cringeworthy.”

Today, Djokovic is much more ready to play the pantomime villain, whether that means confronting the crowd or showing his tougher side to his rivals. “It’s expected that people are backing the home player,” Djokovic told the on-court interviewer on Tuesday, having just eliminated American No 1 Taylor Fritz. “I actually thrive on that energy. Whatever the energy is, I use it as fuel.”

This was itself an echo of Medvedev’s notorious line to a hostile Arthur Ashe Stadium in 2019: “I want all of you to know when you sleep tonight, I won because of you.”

As a champion from a small country, and the player who disrupted the great Federer-Nadal love-in, Djokovic was never destined to be as popular as those two legends, no matter how many majors he goes on to win.

Perversely, though, he could well end up growing his fan base if he continues to reveal his uncompromising side. Honest self-expression is more appealing than impersonation. And if his example inspires a few others to follow suit, all the better. Sport rarely prospers by being bland.

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