United by respect and pain, Novak Djokovic vs Juan Martin del Potro promises to deliver a US Open spectacle

For both men, this tournament has a great emotional pull. Add in their admiration for one another, as well as their history, and tonight's encounter has all the makings of a great final

Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro, who meet here on Sunday in the final of the US Open, both have a particular affection for Flushing Meadows.

Djokovic contested his first Grand Slam final here in 2007 and has played in six more US Open finals since. In his last 11 appearances at the year’s concluding Grand Slam event the 31-year-old Serb has never failed to reach the semi-finals.

For Del Potro the tournament has an even greater emotional pull. This is where the 29-year-old Argentinian beat Roger Federer in his only Grand Slam final to date in 2009 after crushing Rafael Nadal for the loss of only six games in the semi-finals. He is back in the final after years of subsequent struggle and four wrist operations.

Although Djokovic has won only two of his 13 Grand Slam titles here, this is the tournament where he has reached the final most often. He has won all six of his finals at the Australian Open, won one out of four at the French Open and four out of five at Wimbledon.

“This is definitely one of my favourite tournaments to play because of the conditions and because of the fact that I’ve played so well each year,” Djokovic said. “I feel very comfortable here.”

Del Potro always loved watching the US Open as a boy and this is the Grand Slam tournament where he enjoys the greatest support. “I get so much energy from the crowd,” he said.

Djokovic and Del Potro first played each other here in 2007, the Serb winning in straight sets. Djokovic has won 14 of their 18 career meetings but has always had huge respect for the Argentinian.

“He always possessed that big forehand and big serve,” Djokovic said. “His game revolves around that. He has alternated his backhand over the years because of the left wrist injury, but I think now he’s more comfortable with it. When he was coming back from surgery, he struggled a lot with the high balls or low balls, trying to play very flat. Now it seems like he’s found the range.

“I think for someone of his height he anticipates and moves really well around the court. He’s a smart player. He prepares his tactics well. Of course he always relies on his first big serve and his big forehand. It’s one of the biggest forehands ever in the history of this game. He can hit it down the line, cross-court, any angle. That’s the big weapon.”

Although Del Potro’s wrist problems have particularly affected his backhand, his difficulties have helped to make him a more complete player. When he won the title here in 2009 his game was all about his thunderous ground strokes and huge serves, but today he plays with more variety. “I mix it up a lot with my backhands, slices and drop shots,” he said.

Juan Martin del Potro is in his first Grand Slam final since 2009 (AFP/Getty)

Before his fourth operation Del Potro said it would be his last attempt to solve his wrist problems. “I didn’t want to keep going to the surgery room again, putting my body at risk, because you never know what could happen with those operations,” he said. “But I got lucky because it went well. My wrist is OK. I know I’m not 100 per cent, but I can play tennis like this.”

Del Potro spends hours every day keeping his body in shape and admits that it has become harder to achieve that as he gets older. “When you play tournaments like this, when you have a day off between matches, it’s very important to rest your body and have good treatment,” he said. “You also need a big team to support you with this.”

Djokovic said his own injury issues over the last two years had helped him to empathise with Del Potro. The former world No 1 took off the second half of last year in order to try to resolve an elbow problem and eventually had surgery after this year’s Australian Open.

“I was fortunate not to be too long away, but I did carry my injury for over two years, so I understand what a player goes through,” he said. “There was always part of me that believed I could come back relatively quickly to the level of tennis that I once was playing.

“At the same time I felt like the six months off served me very well to find new motivation, inspiration, to recharge my batteries, and also to understand how I wanted to continue playing tennis, whether there were certain changes that I wanted to make with my racket or with my game itself.”

Djokovic said he has much sympathy for Del Potro, having struggled with his own injuries in recent years (AFP/Getty)

On the two previous occasions when Djokovic took the title here he had won Wimbledon earlier in the summer, as he has this year. “The Wimbledon title definitely helped a lot in terms of my approach to [this summer’s] US Open Series tournaments, winning Cincinnati and of course the US Open itself,” he said.

Djokovic thinks his return of serve will be crucial in the final.“I’ve played him many times,” the Serb said. “We’ve never faced each other in a Grand Slam final, so that’s something new, but I know what to expect. I’ll try to prepare myself as best as I can.

“One of the keys of the match will be how well I can return, how many returns I can get back in play, though I’ll also try to have some depth in my returns. I also have to serve accurately. I think that’s very important. When you play a big server like Del Potro, you feel pressure also on your service games.”

Del Potro described Djokovic as “a close friend” while the Serb said his opponent was “a gentle giant”. Djokovic added: “He nurtures the right values in life. He cares about his family. He cares about his friends. He respects everyone. He fights every match from the first to the last point.

“I think people can relate to that and appreciate what he brings to tennis.He treats others the way he wants others to treat him. I think that’s why people love him.”