DJOKOVIC TAKES FEDERER’S BEST SHOT, SURVIVES AT U.S. OPEN FOR THIRD MAJOR TITLE OF 2015 BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 13th September 2015

DJOKOVIC TAKES FEDERER'S BEST SHOT, SURVIVES AT U.S. OPEN FOR THIRD MAJOR TITLE OF 2015 BY RICKY DIMON

epa04929531 Novak Djokovic of Serbia holds up the championship trophy after defeating Roger Federer of Switzerland to win the men's final on the fourteenth day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 13 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. EPA/CJ GUNTHER |

Djokovic takes Federer’s best shot, survives at U.S. Open for third major title of 2015

By Ricky Dimon

Once again it took Novak Djokovic to stop a red-hot Roger Federer.

In a second consecutive Grand Slam final between the top two players in the world, Djokovic got the best of Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday night at the U.S. Open. The Serb committed 17 fewer unforced errors than his opponent (37 to 54) and he saved a whopping 19 of 23 break points before prevailing in three hours and 20 minutes.

Not unlike at Wimbledon, where Federer also lost to Djokovic in a four-set title match, the Swiss rolled through his first six matches with hardly any trouble. At the All-England Club he had dropped only one set to Sam Groth. In New York, Federer had not lost a set and had been broken only once by Philipp Kohlschreiber. Fresh off a run to the Cincinnati title that included dominance of both Djokovic and Andy Murray, the 34-year-old was without question playing some of the best tennis of his illustrious career.

But in best-of-five situation in a major championship match, Djokovic came up with the goods as he often seems to do. The world No. 1 sent a message early by breaking twice in the first set. Federer earned one break of his own, but Djokovic sealed the deal with a clutch hold at 5-4.

As the break-point numbers suggest, Federer had his chances. The 17-time Grand Slam champion seized one at the tail end of the second set, breaking at 6-5 to level the match with a punishing cross-court backhand that Djokovic could not handle.

A crucial third set featured arguably the final turning point with Djokovic serving down 3-4. Having already squandered a break lead, the top seed had to fight off a break point to avoid a 5-3 deficit. After doing just that, Djokovic promptly capitalized on an opportunity of his own to scalp the Federer serve at 4-4. That allowed Djokovic to serve out set three at 5-4, capping off a sudden turnaround.

Federer showed brief signs of making an improbable comeback when he regained one of two breaks at 5-2 in the fourth. After an easy hold to stay alive, he even powered his way to a 15-40 opening on Djokovic’s second attempt to serve for the title. But Djokovic slammed the door, winning four consecutive points to finish the job.

“Of course there is a just a letdown and disappointment that I couldn’t push it 5-all,” Federer lamented. “And then who knows what happens?”

A fifth set, perhaps? Federer’s sixth U.S. Open title? We will never know, but what is certain is that the crowd wanted to see all of that transpire. Raucous from start to finish after finally getting what they came to see following a three-hour rain delay, the fans were 100 percent behind Federer and not afraid to show it–even cheering Djokovic errors on more than a few occasions.

“They were unbelievable tonight,” the former world No. 1 said. “Were they better than ever? Possibly. Was it louder than ever? Maybe. It was unreal…. To receive the crowd support that I did receive. I don’t consider that normal.”

What is not normal is the season Djokovic is enjoying, but three out of four majors is not unprecedented. He first did it in 2011 and has now done it again with triumphs at the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open. Djokovic came within one match of the calendar-year Grand Slam, as he fell only to Stan Wawrinka in the Roland Garros final.

“It’s been an incredible season,” the 10-time major champion assessed. “I’m very fortunate to experience a great success this year. The season is not over, but the Grand Slam is over. The biggest tournaments that I have played this year, I won three out of four. It’s more than I could ask for, definitely.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 2015 U.S. Open, Atp World Tour, Federer vs. Djokovic, Flushing Meadows, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis News, US Open final

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10sBalls_com says:

September 13, 2015 at 10:31 pm

-@DjokerNole TAKES @rogerfederer’s BEST SHOT, SURVIVES AT #UsOpenFinal FOR THIRD MAJOR TITLE OF 2015 BY @Dimonator – http://t.co/fZvuVY6y6T
Dimonator says:

September 13, 2015 at 10:49 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@DjokerNole TAKES @rogerfederer’s BEST SHOT, SURVIVES AT #UsOpenFinal FOR THIRD MAJOR TITLE OF 2015 BY @Dimonator – http…