Roger Federer looked good all-tournament long and was tipped to win his 18th Grand Slam title, but Novak Djokovic was also determined to add another feather in his cap.
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The summit clash was delayed by a gap of three hours as rains halted play at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It was not the top seed’s best performance but it was enough to get him his 10th Grand Slam title. In the fourth set, he further pulled away taking the score to 5-2, but Federer rallied and took the score to 5-4.
That’s why I’m playing this sport. “He happened to be in the city over the last couple of days, so I invited him to come along”.
He could not keep pace with No. 1 Djokovic, who earned his 10th Grand Slam title with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win.
“It was a hard match, a tough one tonight”. On the contrary, I think it’s logical to expect that a great player and a champion like Roger has the majority of the support anywhere. Djokovic followed suit. They sprinted to 5-4, where Djokovic served to stay in the set. But at the same time, I did win my tournaments, the ones I was supposed to.
“I would lie if I said that I am not aiming to maybe at least match or surpass some guys like Pete or Nadal, even if Nadal is still playing, obviously, so he still has a chance to increase his number”, said Djokovic, who clinched the year-end No. 1 ranking for the fourth time.
“It’s been an incredible season, next to the 2011 season, the best of my life”, Djokovic said.
“It’s something I will work on, and keep moving forward”.
Novak Djokovic spent the eve of the US Open men’s final watching the movie 300.
The 34-year-old put a positive spin on his loss.
“I had a wonderful last two weeks”. I am happy with where my level is at.
Turned out, he said, a member of his entourage accidentally grabbed the keys while gathering Djokovic’s bags.
“I think being in the situation before helped me to understand particular obstacles that are on the way and how I need to overcome them”, Djokovic said. I feel more complete as a player than I was in 2011.
The Swiss immediately broke straight back after Djokovic slipped while moving sideways, landing on his right hand an elbow and eventually calling for the trainer two games later. Federer had set point and failed to convert, before Djokovic closed it out with a 117mph serve.
His serve was shaky in the early going Sunday. He was wrong. Ask Stan Wawrinka, whom Federer dissembled with such artistry in their semi-final on Friday, bamboozling his compatriot nine minutes into the first of their three ultimately one-sided sets with just that shot.
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But the Swiss great knows one thing for certain.
