Djokovic jolts the dreamers

Written by: Staff on 12th September 2010

Djokovic jolts the dreamers

Sept. 11, 2010; Flushing, NY, USA; Novak Djokovic (SRB) on day 13 of the 2010 US Open at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-US PRESSWIRE |

It was supposed to be the dream final, the match that everyone had been waiting for since the draw was made more than two weeks ago – Rafael Nadal against Roger Federer. The Mighty Fed to reclaim his place as the serial winner in Flushing Meadows or the Lovely Raf to complete his career Grand Slam. Take your pick.

And then, in three hours and 44 minutes of sometimes blistering tennis and sometimes terrifying nerves, Novak Djokovic ripped up that script, saved two match points and beat Federer 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. As the final point landed, so the press bunker echoed to the sound of 1,000 stories being consigned to the bin. Everyone knew Djokovic could give Federer a decent match but no one really thought that he would actually win.

Oh, but he did. My, how he did.

“It’s one of those matches that you will remember for the rest of your life,” a tired but deliriously happy Djokovic said, “not just because you won against one of the best players that ever played this game at that occasion, but as well, coming back from match points down and under the circumstances playing good tennis and winning in the end, the thriller.

“So I am – I am very proud of myself. There are a lot of emotions involved. Of course I was too exhausted to show them in the end. But it’s been a fantastic semi-final.”

Djokovic had played more than well enough to win the first set, he looked as tight as a drum when he lost the third set and once it was over, he looked utterly stunned. This is his first major final since the Australian Open in 2008 and this was the opportunity he had been working and hoping for every week since. He won in 2008 but, since then, he has been burdened by the weight of his own expectations to prove that he could do it again.

“I can compare,” he said, trying to relate the feeling of winning a grand slam to beating Federer in New York. “I think I can compare the feeling with winning a major after I have won this kind of match. Still one match to come. I have to try to stay stable and calm as much as I can.

“After such a big win it’s hard, because you’re so happy. But you’re playing tomorrow finals of a major against the best player in the world. You want to give your best, and anything I have left I will leave to the court tomorrow. I hope luck will be on my side.”

For Federer, the loss was clearly a shock. He had held two match points and he had still come out on the losing end. It had been the story of his year so far so, in that respect, it was not a devastating surprise but it was, nonetheless, a shock.

“I lost a couple more with match points this year, so they all pretty much feel the same,” he said, trying to make light of it all. “They feel somewhat empty at the end because you have tried everything, and maybe it was luck. Maybe it was he played well. Maybe you didn’t pick the right shot; maybe he did. Obviously you feel like you left something out if you lose the match having had match point.

“It wasn’t the final, so I’m not as disappointed it would have been the final. That’s the only positive news to enjoy anything out of it.”

For Nadal, his swift and efficient 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 win over Mikhail Youzhny was not quite a dream come true. Admittedly, reaching his first final was a huge step in his career but it was not the end of the story. The real dream is to win the US Open. Still, for the moment, getting to the final was not half bad.

This is one of the few occasions he has felt fit, fresh and ready for the challenges of Flushing Meadows and for all that he did not think that he was playing particularly well as the tournament began, he has been unstoppable in the first six rounds.

This year, the cement courts of New York are playing faster than ever and yet Nadal has looked better than ever. He has revamped his first serve to give it more fizz and bite and, as a result, he has only been broken twice in 91 service games so far. Only Fernando Verdasco and Youzhny have managed the feat – and much good it did them.

But while everyone else was getting overexcited about Nadal’s chance to make history, the man himself was quietly keeping a lid on his own expectations. Not only did he still have another match to play but even if he were to win the final, it will still leave him seven grand slam titles behind Federer. That, he feels, makes his chances of rewriting the record books look rather slim.

“Suppose I won that final, I win that final, I’m going to say the same,” he said, “I am not on the way to be the best of the history, because that’s very far. I really don’t believe I can arrive to the Roger’s level. I think what Roger did is something almost impossible to repeat. I go day-by-day, and just like this I going to have a chance to keep having chances to win important tournaments.”

That was all very well, but for a press pack desperate for a decent yarn, it was not nearly enough. The American writers tried a different tack: did reaching the final and having the chance to complete his career Grand Slam make this year’s US Open final the most important match of the Open era? Er, no. Not really. Not at all.

“I don’t think is that important,” Nadal said calmly. “That is for sure very important match, but is only one more match. For sure this one going to be something new, because it’s a different tournament.

“But for me it’s not important, the match of tomorrow, than the final of Wimbledon 2008 or the final of Wimbledon 2007. That’s my feeling.”

Deep within the press bunker, a gaggle of Brits giggled shamelessly.

Meanwhile, over the Spanish quarter, there were wall-to-wall smiles. Throughout the tournament, Nadal had been playing catch-up with Federer. The absurd scheduling had left him playing one day later than the Swiss from the start but, on Super Saturday, he was allowed to play first, he finished his match with the minimum of fuss while his fellow finalist had sweated and strained for nearly four hours to get through. For once, luck seemed to be on Nadal’s side in New York.

History dictates that this is Nadal’s final to lose. He leads Djokovic with a 14-7 career rivalry and all four times they have met in a final, Nadal has won. He has beaten Djokovic on clay, on grass and on a hardcourt. He has even beaten the Serb on one leg, winning one of the best clay court three-setters anyone can remember in the Madrid Masters final last year. At the time he was hobbled by tendinitis in both knees, but still he found a way to win.

But, more importantly, Nadal is just where he wants to be and where he expects to be – in a major final. Djokovic simply looked stunned to get there. And that makes all the difference in the world.

Topics: 44 Minutes, Australian Open, Career Grand Slam, Circumstances, Dreamers, Emotions, Game, Jolts, Lost, Match Points, Nerves, Novak Djokovic, Opportunity, Raf, Rafael Nadal, Rest Of Your Life, Roger Federer, Tennis, Thriller, Tight As A Drum