Video - Medvedev's "Salmon Celebration" After His 2021 US Open Title
The 2021 US Open final was set to go down in tennis history, regardless of the outcome. On Arthur Ashe Court, Novak Djokovic was playing for history, just one match away from completing the calendar Grand Slam, having already won the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and Wimbledon earlier in the season.
Facing the Serbian was Daniil Medvedev, who had lost two Major finals before arriving in New York four years ago and was in search of his first Grand Slam title.
The top two seeds were present for the final, and Djokovic had the chance to become the first man to win all Grand Slams in the same season since Rod Laver in 1969.
But the weight of history clearly affected Djokovic, who was very tense and couldn't play his best tennis. Committing 38 unforced errors, he faltered in his match and conceded in straight sets to a very solid Medvedev (6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in 2h16).
To finally celebrate his first Grand Slam title, Medvedev performed the famous "salmon celebration" well-known to EA FC (formerly FIFA) users, as the Russian himself confirmed during the trophy ceremony and in the press conference.
"Not celebrating would have been boring. I wanted to make this moment special. Only legends can understand what I did after the match, it was L2+left. If you often play FIFA, you'll do this celebration many times.
I slightly hurt myself, it's not easy to do this on hard court! I wanted the spectators and my friends to laugh about it, I'm happy to have made this moment legendary for myself," Medvedev assured at the time.
Four years later, in September 2025, Medvedev, now 29 years old, is still seeking another Major title since that historic moment. The former world number one and now 18th in the ATP ranking hasn't won a single trophy since Rome in 2023.
As for Djokovic, he has won four additional Grand Slam titles since, and currently leads 10 wins to 5 in head-to-head matches against Medvedev. The two have not faced each other since the 2023 US Open final won by Djokovic.
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