Novak Djokovic secured his 24th grand slam title and became the oldest US Open champion in the Open era after a gruelling victory over Daniil Medvedev.
The 36-year-old Serbian, who is back up to world number one, beat third seed Medvedev 6-3 7-6 (5) 6-3 for a fourth Flushing Meadows crown.
The match hinged on a marathon second set lasting 104 minutes, which was longer than both players’ entire first-round matches.
Djokovic won it after a tie-break to move 2-0 up and finally break Medvedev’s spirit, going on to gain a measure of revenge after the Russian denied him the calendar grand slam in the final here two years ago.
The win also moved him level with Margaret Court’s record of major titles, although really that is a statistical irrelevance given the obvious difference in the level and depth of competition between now and the 1960s.
Of more importance to Djokovic is his record against his peers; he is now two clear of Rafael Nadal’s 22 grand slam crowns and four ahead of Roger Federer, who declared on 20 last year.
Having already won in Australia and Paris, Djokovic has picked up three major titles in a year for the fourth time in his career. Only the five-set defeat by Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final blemished his 2023 record.
Now he has surpassed Ken Rosewall, who was 35 when he won in 1970, and who did not have to contend with any sets lasting almost an hour and a quarter.
A Medvedev double-fault and a blistering backhand winner down the line gave Djokovic the early break point which he converted to love to subsequently take the first set in a relatively speedy 48 minutes.
But Medvedev, returning from about a quarter-of-a-mile behind the baseline, made Djokovic toil in the second set and it began to show with the favourite showing signs of fatigue.
After an hour and three quarters he produced his first break point of the match but Djokovic, with an obvious change of game plan in a bid to shorten the points, expertly snuffed it out with a big serve and an immaculate volley.
Medvedev had set point on the Djokovic serve but another volley at the net dealt with that, and when tie-break slipped away from the 27-year-old, the match soon followed.
Sabalenka sets up Swiatek rematch at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open final for the second year running after beating Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in a semi-final classic on Thursday.
Fourth seed Rybakina made a flying start and took the opener within just 25 minutes, but Sabalenka hit back in a topsy-turvy second set featuring five breaks of serve to force a decider.
Both players were imperious on their own serve from there, with a tie-break required to split them. Sabalenka's power looked likely to overwhelm Rybakina as she raced into a 5-1 lead, but the former Wimbledon champion clung on by saving two match points on her own serve.
Sabalenka would not be denied third time around, though, a huge serve giving Rybakina no chance as the defending champion teed up a rematch with Swiatek, who she beat in the Spanish capital in last year's showpiece match.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka's unwanted record
Sabalenka has dropped 60 games at this year's Madrid Open. That makes her the player with the most games dropped en route to reaching the final since the tournament's inception in 2009.
The world number two had to dig deep in a match which saw Rybakina win more total points (99 to 95), but she will not mind one bit if she goes on to capture a third Madrid Open title on Saturday.
Lehecka into maiden Masters semi-final after Medvedev retires hurt
Jiri Lehecka progressed to the first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of his career as Daniil Medvedev retired hurt on Thursday at the Madrid Open.
Lehecka, who beat the great Rafael Nadal in the last 16, had just taken the first set 6-4 when Medvedev threw in the towel.
Medvedev had earlier received treatment from the physio, having seemingly struggled when moving to his right side.
"It's never easy in a match like this," Lehecka said. "If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn't be like that.
"So of course, it's never easy to see your opponent struggling, but at that moment, you just need to focus on yourself, trying to get the maximum level out of yourself."
Lehecka will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who progressed thanks to a walkover following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal, for a place in the final.
Data Debrief: Czech mates
Lehecka is the third Czech player to reach the semi-finals in Madrid, following Jiri Vovak and Tomas Berdych.
Should Lehecka reach the final, he will move into the top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time.
Swiatek races into Madrid Open final with dominant win over Keys
Iga Swiatek cruised into her second Madrid Open final on Thursday, maintaining her ominous form by beating Madison Keys 6-1 6-3 within 71 minutes.
Swiatek had been forced to fight back from a set down against Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarter-finals, but there was no slow start on Thursday as she broke Keys' serve to love at the first attempt.
Only in the fifth game, when Keys failed to convert two break points, was Swiatek troubled in a 31-minute opener, and she carried that momentum into the second set with another early break.
Having eliminated Coco Gauff and Ons Jabeur on a deeply impressive run, Keys had no answer for Swiatek's power as she clinically worked her way through the second set, the American's forehand running long on match point to seal a routine win for the world number one.
Having lost last year's final against Aryna Sabalenka, Swiatek could face a rematch against the defending champion, who takes on Elena Rybakina in Thursday's other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses Serena
Saturday's final will be Swiatek's 11th at WTA 1000-level, the Pole going all the way on 37.9 per cent of her 29 main-draw entries at that level. That is a better ratio than 23-time grand slam champion Serena Williams managed in her glittering career, the American doing so at 18 of 49 WTA 1000 tournaments (36.7 per cent).
Swiatek has now played eight matches in 2024 without dropping a single game on her own serve, a tally only matched by her possible final opponent Sabalenka on the WTA tour.
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