NEW YORK — All four Grand Slam trophies were there. When Novak Djokovic played Daniil Medvedev in the 2021 U.S. Open final — the same two men who will meet Sunday in Arthur Ashe Stadium for the 2023 title — there was more than just the championship of that particular two-week tournament at stake, and the U.S. Tennis Association wanted to be prepared.

Djokovic was attempting to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to complete a calendar-year Grand Slam by winning all four majors in a single season. So the USTA spent a little more than $50,000 to make sure insured versions of the trophies from the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon were on-site for a postmatch ceremony if Djokovic beat Medvedev that day (he did not; Medvedev’s lone Slam triumph so far came via a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory).

The three “visiting” trophies were stored down the hall from the Ashe locker rooms in the office of the head of the tournament facility, guarded overnight by a security guard, Widmaier said. They left only briefly, brought to ESPN’s on-site studio on Saturday for what tournament spokesman Chris Widmaier called “beauty shots.”

Then the wait began.

Had Djokovic defeated Medvedev, the program for the ceremony after the final would have included an announcement to the crowd and TV audience: “For the first time in history, the four men’s singles Grand Slam trophies are together in one place.” The four would have been displayed on the court, each on its own pedestal that showed the relevant tournament logo.

If Djokovic had taken two sets at any point, meaning he was one set from winning, the trophies would have been moved to outside a doorway leading out to the court.

“We never needed to move the trophies,” Widmaier said.

The next day, the three trophies began their journeys out of New York.

Now, two years later, Djokovic and Medvedev will again decide the U.S. Open men’s champion. This time, Djokovic was quite close to again bidding for a true Grand Slam: He is 26-1 in major matches in 2023, after winning the the Australian Open and French Open, but losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

Medvedev, who eliminated Alcaraz in the U.S. Open semifinals Friday night, is in his third final at Flushing Meadows in five years and fifth major final overall.

Djokovic is seeking what would be a 24th Grand Slam title, more than anyone in the sport’s Open era, and fourth in New York.

“Every time in a Grand Slam final, it’s another shot for history and I’m aware of it, and of course I’m very proud of it,” Djokovic said. “But I don’t have much time — nor do I allow myself — to reflect on these things or think about the history too much in this sense. Because when I did that in the past, like ‘21 finals here, I was maybe overwhelmed with the occasion and the opportunity and I underperformed. So I don’t want this to happen again.”