The U.S. Open final was a rematch of the Wimbledon final this summer, which resulted in another Djokovic four-set win over Federer. But the Serb was able to maintain the edge for the four-set win in more than three hours.
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“I’m enjoying this year more than I did any previous one because I’m a husband and a father, and that makes it sweeter”.
“I need to produce my best level against him and that’s what was needed from me to win this trophy”. He improved to 63-5 overall this season and 27-1 in Grand Slam tournaments, leading Carson Daly to ask him if this is his greatest season ever.
“We got to double digits now and I’m flattered and honored to be a part of the elite group of players, legends of our sports, to manage to win this many Grand Slam trophies in their lives and careers”, Djokovic said.
Djokovic’s ability to stay in points throughout the match played out with Federer making 54 unforced errors, to 56 winners.
“I have tremendous respect for Roger and the challenge he presents”, said Djokovic, who is now 21-21 in career meetings with Federer.
The Serbian kept pressing with a break to open the fourth and then again to lead 5-2 coming one step closer to winning the title, but Federer was not going give up easily, digging into his reserves he would break and hold serve to reduce the difference to 5-4 in a nail-biting match.
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“Maybe I haven’t played this offensive for a very long time, and that’s maybe the reasons, as well, why maybe I was slightly shaky when it came to the crunch on the break points. I really like this sport”. He also topped Federer in the Wimbledon final in similar fashion – dropping the second set and taking the next two. I’ve got a lot of passion. In the end it was won by the current #1 ranked player in the world, Novakd Djokovic.
“I have to share my admiration for Roger and everything he’s doing for tennis”, said Djokovic. It’s a quite incredible evening for me. He upped the ante this summer, tailoring his schedule to the U.S. Open and enacting an even more aggressive, attack-at-all-costs game style, but it still wasn’t enough to beat Djokovic in full flight.
The Swiss missed 19 break-point opportunities as Djokovic was more clinical in the important moments, showing his iron-will again to secure a hard-fought victory.
“Everybody has a choice to support a player that they want to support”.
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The third set was a roller-coaster ride, with the pair exchanging breaks in the third and fourth games.
