Novak Djokovic of Serbia kisses the U.S. Open trophy after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland in their men’s singles final match at the U.S. Open Championships tennis tournament in New York, September 13, 2015.
Advertisement
The hostile reception appeared to rankle Djokovic on a couple of occasions when he gestured towards the stands after winning crucial points. “Yes!” to celebrate a missed forehand by Federer.
The final was in many ways an echo of the Wimbledon final and, once again, Roger Federer did have his chances.
In the end, Djokovic handled everything in a thrill-a-minute final at Arthur Ashe Stadium. “Of course some of them I could have done better, should have done better”, he said.
“We got to double digits now and I’m flattered and honoured to be a part of elite group of players, legends of our sports to manage to win this many Grand Slam trophies in their lives and careers”, said Djokovic. The crowd had been backing their favorite player with so much noise that Djokovic had to pull out of his serve a few times so that the noises could subside. And it didn’t work. A game later, the top seed grabbed a two-set-to-one lead after saving two more break points and profiting from a Federer error on set point. “I’m definitely very satisfied and proud of that”.
“He’s growing and growing in stature as a great champion“. His one setback was in the final of the French Open to Stan Wawrinka that denied him the Career Grand Slam.
This was the second consecutive time this year that Federer has been denied an 18th Grand Slam title by Djokovic.
At Wimbledon Federer had hit the heights in his crushing semi-final victory over Andy Murray before running into Djokovic. I’m playing good tennis. Won’t happen again: The US Tennis Association is in the middle of constructing a retractable roof expected to be ready for next year’s tournament.
Djokovic saved several break points against Federer in the fourth set that would have evened the match out and potentially sent it to a deciding fifth set, so maybe he needed to channel his inner King Leonidas to ensure victory. When the contest finally started, both Federer and Djokovic took time to find their rhythm and footing due to the slippery conditions.
Advertisement
The opportunities in the third set really cost Federer.
