Tonight against Daniel Medvedev (2) at the US Open, Novak Djokovic will arrive "with all his heart, soul, body and head - as if this is the last game of my career." Alexander Zebrav, who prevented him from winning gold in Tokyo.
The first-ranked player was probably afraid of recovery when he lost the first set and was dragged to the fifth set, but thanks to his unique mental powers, Nola went up to 0: 5 in the decisive set and closed the story.
At that moment, he directed all his resources to the finals.
"This is probably the most important game of my life," he declared;
"Or maybe not, I do not know."
Djokovic.
Not excited about mishaps, USA TODAY Sports
To a large extent, tonight's game may indeed be the last in Djokovic's current career.
It's a game with the greatest before and after potential in the history of the industry, a game that ends up hiding a world that a tennis player has never set foot in.
A victory over the second-ranked team will make Nola the first person since Rod Labor in 1969 to win all four Grand Slams in one calendar year.
A victory over the Russian who ousted Felix Ozer Eliasim in the semi-finals will separate the Serb from Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal and send him to the top of the winners table with 21 titles.
A victory over the hungry Medvedev for a bachelor's degree in the third final of his life will shift the greatest discussion of all time towards 34-year-old Nola.
"When you look at the data and tennis alone - he's the greatest of all time," said Zebrav, who has already chosen a side in the debate.
Daniel Medvedev.
Maybe it's going to be his night ?, AP
Whoever tries to compete with it is Medvedev.
In February he lost to Djokovic in the Australian final, but this year he won Marseille and Toronto - two tournaments on hard surfaces.
In New York he lost one set, in the quarter-finals against Van de Sansklap, but in the semi-finals again seemed to be in complete control.
The 25-year-old Russian is playing well, but his reaction at the end of the semi-final - an indifference that culminates in waving goodbye to the crowd - makes it clear that only winning a tournament will satisfy him.
"Let's face it, I was already happy to be in the final in 2019," said Medvedev, "but I lost, and the more you lose, the more you want to win. After two losses in the final, I want to win in the third attempt."
On paper, Medvedev has many reasons to believe this.
Since 2018 he has won the most games on hard surfaces (146) and was in the most finals (17).
The Russian, who has watched all of Nola's games in the "because he loves tennis" tournament, knows better than anyone in front of Djokovic - the possible is not always possible.