Such amazing scenery in the US Open final yesterday! After a controversial women's final, the tournament needed something spectacular from men to save the day. Of course, we only saw 3 sets and del Potro, with all due respect, had close to zero chances to win, so fans who love drama must have been disappointed.
In overall, the US Open this year was quite a failure - lots of players had to retire or played poorly due to terrible conditions, Carlos Ramos and Serena Williams created their private soap opera instead of playing tennis, and we only witnessed a few dramatic 5-setters from men side.
But let's forget that and talk about good things now. Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro.
Yesterday, the temperature in New York dropped and conditions to play got better. However, cold weather slowed down the court, giving an upper hand to Djokovic, who could defend even better against powerful del Potro's groundstrokes. And boy oh boy, he did that well.
Nole brought as back to 2015-16 when he dominated tour and was unplayable even to legends like Federer or Nadal. To be honest, it feels like Nole could win against a wall when he plays his best tennis. Del Potro tried hard yesterday, and it would be absurd to say that he did not play well. But playing well is not enough against Djokovic when he reaches his inhuman state.
The match started with both players comfortably defending their serves. Del Potro used a very simple tactic to exchange a couple of backhand slice shots with Djokovic before unleashing his powerful flat forehand shots. It worked fine, but for some odd reason, del Potro changed his style at 3:4 40:0 and started exchanging double-handed backhands with Djokovic. That was not a smart move, especially when Djokovic was feeling his game and rarely made any mistakes. From that point, Nole won 6 out of 7 games and got ahead 6-3 3-1.
That's when fans, who stayed with del Potro throughout the whole tournament, came to play. They started cheering the gentle giant from Argentina and resurrected him for a second life. Del Potro went all-in with his best shots and got back to the match. For the first time in the final, Novak was a human again; he started making unforced errors and questionable tactical decisions. And that is when the deciding game of the final happened.
After winning 3 games in a row and leading the second set 4:3, del Potro was eager to use Djokovic's moment of weakness and steal the set. On the other side of the court, Djokovic gave it all to stay in the set and eventually get a comfortable 2:0 lead, which would almost guarantee him the trophy. Both players were shaky at times but gave it all on the court in a game, which lasted over 20 minutes and must be one of the longest games in any Grand Slam finals game. Del Potro had 3 break point opportunities and who knows what would have happened if he converted at least one of those chances. However, Djokovic was too good and eventually defended his serve.
The set went to a tie-breaker, which will probably stick to del Potro as the most heartbreaking tie-breaker in his career. The Argentinian giant had an early lead 3:1 and missed hit his favorite forehand shot to the net, letting Djokovic get back to the level terms. After that, del Potro made an exact same forehand mistake on his serve, and Djokovic won the tie-breaker 7:5. I guess it is needless to say that del Potro had no chance to win the match after that, even though, he never gave up.
The crowd was electrifying yesterday. Both players had their supporting groups chanting and screaming after every point, creating one of the best atmospheres I have ever seen on a tennis court. After the match, Novak Djokovic thanked all the fans for being the best (of course, that was a mandatory procedure) and compared the final to Serbia-Argentina football match. Usually tennis fans are more sophisticated and are fine with clapping, so hearing all sorts of different chants in the stadium was amazing. Also, during the winners' ceremony, we could feel that del Potro was fans' favorite in New York; he received much more applauds and screams from the crowd than Novak Djokovic, who is used to have crowds on his side.
What will happen now? Well, both players still have ATP finals in London to attend. With Rafael Nadal probably missing the tournament, Novak Djokovic will be a clear favorite to win it and finish the year as the world's number one. And let's be honest, he deserves that. Juan Martin del Potro will try to do everything to stop Nole at London and get his revenge, but I cannot see that happening with all the momentum on Nole's side.
In 2019, Novak Djokovic will be determined to continue his winning streak - the Australian Open is his favorite and most successful tournament. Winning there would put a lot of pressure on Nadal at Roland Garros (hopefully, Nadal will be fit). I would be extremely excited to see Djokovic in his current condition facing Nadal on clay in Paris. That would be an instant history.
Djokovic has 14 Grand Slams now, Nadal is with 17, and Federer is leading the group with 20. I will be bold to call Djokovic finishing his career with the most Grand Slams. Nadal will get at least a couple more at Roland Garros, but I don't see him winning more than 5. At the age of 37, Federer would be happy with at least one more Grand Slam. And then we have Djokovic, who might easily win 3 next year and continue that streak for a couple more years. Of course, if Djokovic is after Federer and Nadal, he will have to dominate next year because players like Thiem, Zverev, and Coric are knocking at the doors as well. But for now, Djokovic should celebrate his victory! He is the best in the world again, and no one can deny that.
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