Djokovic Misses Tennis Grand Slam; British Teenager Raducanu Surprise Women’s Winner

The U.S. Open tennis tournament ended Sunday in New York City. Daniil Medvedev of Russia won the men's competition, defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia. A day earlier, Briton Emma Raducanu captured¹ the championship in play against Leylah Fernandez of Canada in two sets.

The men's final placed the two top tennis players against each other: Djokovic is number one in the world; Medvedev is number two. Djokovic was seeking a record at the event. He hoped to win the first Grand Slam² since Australian Rod³ Laver did it in 1969.

In tennis, the Grand Slam means winning all four major tournaments in the same year. Djokovic won the first three: the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon.

But, it was not to be. The 25-year-old Medvedev won in three sets, each six to four. The Associated Press described his performance as "seemingly⁴ effortless" with "pinpoint⁵ serving."

It was the first major championship for Medvedev. After his win, he praised the 34-year-old Djokovic.

"I've never said this to anybody, but I'll say it right now: For me, you are the greatest tennis player in history."

Medvedev said defeating such a player made him feel more sure about his future in the sport.

Djokovic was brought to tears by the end of the match. He also praised Medvedev.

"Just congratulate him, full credit⁶ from his mentality⁷, his approach, his game, everything."

As to his own play, Djokovic said he knows he could have and should have played better. "Just energy-wise, I felt slow," he added.

He also thanked the tennis fans who came to Arthur Ashe Stadium to see the match. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fans were not permitted in 2020.

Djokovic, 34, remains⁸ tied with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with 20 major championships.

The women's final Saturday brought together two little-known teenagers.

The victor, Emma Raducanu, had played in her first professional tournament only three months earlier. Raducanu's win was called "improbable."

She is the first U.S. Open women's champion to come out of the group of qualifiers. Qualifiers are players who are not guaranteed a chance to be in the tournament. She had to play three matches just to get into the main part of the two-week event. Next, Raducanu had to win six more times to reach the final.

She won every set she played, becoming the first to do so since Serena Williams in 2014.

Raducanu was born in Canada and moved to Britain as a small child. She is the first British woman to win a major singles tournament since 1977.

At 18, Raducanu is also the youngest Grand Slam tournament winner since 2004.

Fernandez is 19. She entered the match as the 73rd-ranked player in the world. She was an unlikely⁹ opponent¹⁰ in a tournament that included top-ranked players including Naomi Osaka and Ash Barty. Before this year's U.S. Open, Fernandez had never made it past the third round of a major tournament.

The last time the two women had played was during the Wimbledon junior tournament in 2018.

Raducanu's win came with some worry, and some blood. She went to the ground trying to return a shot from Fernandez late in the second set and hurt her leg. The umpire stopped the match so she could get medical treatment.

When she returned, she won the next game, and the match.

"I can't believe it," Raducanu said.

With the win, she earned $2.5 million and a congratulatory message from Queen Elizabeth, who called the victory "a remarkable¹¹ achievement at such a young age."

The next major tournament is the 2022 Australian Open, which opens on January 17.

Words in This Story

tournament –n. a sports competition or series of contests that involves many players or teams and that usually continues for at least several days

approach –n. a way of dealing¹² with something : a way of doing or thinking about something

pinpoint –adj. very exact or precise¹³

umpire –n. a person who controls play and makes sure that players act according to the rules in a sports event (such as a baseball game or a cricket¹⁴ or tennis match)

remarkable –adj. unusual or surprising : likely to be noticed

achievement –n. something that has been done or achieved through effort : a result of hard work

1 captured   

俘获( capture的过去式和过去分词 )； 夺取； 夺得； 引起（注意、想像、兴趣）

参考例句：

• Allied troops captured over 300 enemy soldiers. 盟军俘虏了300多名敌方士兵。
• Most of the rebels were captured and disarmed. 大部分叛乱分子被俘获并解除了武装。

2 slam   

v.猛力地推、放或扔；砰地关上

参考例句：

• They were surprised by the slam of a car door.关汽车门时发出的声音使他们很吃惊。
• Why should you slam the window?你干吗要使劲关窗户呢？

3 rod   

n.钓竿，杆，棒

参考例句：

• Pass me a bamboo rod.递给我一根竹竿。
• He heated the iron rod and bent it into a right angle.他将铁棒烧热，将其弯成直角。

4 seemingly   

adv.从表面上看起来，似乎是

参考例句：

• Seemingly,we can do nothing to prevent this from happening.我们似乎没有什么办法阻止这件事发生。
• For several seemingly interminable seconds no one spoke.有几秒钟没有人讲话，这几秒钟似乎十分漫长。

5 pinpoint   

vt.准确地确定；用针标出…的精确位置

参考例句：

• It is difficult to pinpoint when water problems of the modern age began.很难准确地指出，现代用水的问题是什么时候出现的。
• I could pinpoint his precise location on a map.我能在地图上指明他的准确位置。

6 credit   

n.信用，荣誉，贷款，学分；v.归功于，赞颂，信任

参考例句：

• I credit him with a certain amount of sense.我认为他有一定的见识。
• He got the credit,and we did the dirty work.他得荣誉，我们做不讨好的工作。

7 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

8 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

9 unlikely   

adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的

参考例句：

• It was very unlikely that he would do that.他不见得会做那种事。
• It is unlikely that she will come. 她不大可能来了。

10 opponent   

n.对手，敌手，反对者；adj.敌对的，反对的

参考例句：

• The boxer gave his opponent a punch on the nose.这个拳击手朝他对手的鼻子上猛击一拳。
• After a fierce struggle,he got a beat on his opponent.经过殊死的较量，他占了对手的上风。

11 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

12 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

13 precise   

adj.精确的，恰好的，极清楚的

参考例句：

• At that precise moment, Miss Pulteney came into the office.就在那时，普尔特尼小姐走进了办公室。
• A scientist must be precise in making tests.科学家做试验必须精确。

14 cricket   

n.蟋蟀，板球运动；adj.公平的

参考例句：

• The England cricket team scored quite a useful total.英格兰板球队得分总数令人满意。
• We could hear the shrill of the midsummer cricket.我们可以听到仲夏时节蟋蟀的尖叫声。
• Your behaviour isn't cricket.你的行为不光彩。