2021 US Open

You could be right, but I still think it was an odd thing to say on behalf of DM. Then again it could be the case that he was all over the place mentally after winning his first grand slam. His playing possum thing when he won was certainly a bit odd. I was worried he fractured a bone :D

No I get that but I'm just taking everything into the equation. Many have said that Fed had it easy that led to his number of wins, but you could equally say Djokovic had it easy in recent years too. I'd totally agree with you that Djokovic has the will to recover from yesterdays defeat and rise again. The fun part is waiting to see what pans out.

Would agree, think age was a factor, giving away best part of a decade to Medvedev, regardless of advances in sport science, age is still a big factor. At elite level sport a 25 year old should at the very least match a 34 year old, but most likely outlast them. Recovery also slows with age ( especially after a tough match).

A younger Djokovic most likely wouldn't have dropped all those sets on the way to the final, would recover better from the semi final and be fresher for the final, all those percentages add up, a fresher Djokovic ( both mentally and physically) would have performed better and the match would have taken on a different complexion.

Djokovic is far from done, but, getting to that age when his performances are likely to become less consistent than they have been.

Agree, it does seem mad but I think this was the first time he was actually beaten, while fully fit, in a non-FO GS since his meltdown ?

I found this top 20 list interesting

https://www.ultimatetennisstatistics.com/record?recordId=OldestGrandSlamChampion

Federer's peak years (victory-wise) seemed to be considerably younger than Djokovic and Nadal. He won nothing from 31-35, years when Djokovic added on 4 or 5 each.

Federer's 3 titles when he was 35/36 really stand out as an anomaly. Although they were as a direct result of Djokovic's crisis, only 1 other player in history was winning slams at that age.

Winning slams in your 30s is the exception rather than the norm, and Ken Rosewall aside, it's only the Big 3 who have done it.

Nadal is not the oldest Spaniard to have won a GS

Federer was borderline delusional if he thought he could win Wimbledon this year at almost 40 years of age.

Ken Rosewall and Federer's golden twilight aside, nobody north of 35 wins GS, so Djokovic and Nadal only have next year to add to their tally before things dry up.

It's one of the few tennis lists that Borg doesn't show up on, even down on page 5 :)