US Open final: Novak Djokovic beats Juan Martin del Potro to equal Pete Sampras' record in Grand Slams
Nobody responds as well in the face of adversity as Djokovic, who cemented his place alongside Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in an era of greats
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Your support makes all the difference.Novak Djokovic has learned to live in the shadow of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal but the 31-year-old Serb demonstrated once again here on Sunday how this is an era of three great men’s champions rather than two.
In beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 to win the US Open for the third time, Djokovic took his career tally of Grand Slam titles to 14. That equals Pete Sampras’ career total, which until nine years ago was the record in the men’s game but is now bettered by Federer and Nadal, who have won 20 and 17 respectively.
Appropriately enough, Nadal, Federer and Djokovic – in that order – will fill the top three places in Monday’s updated world rankings list as players over the age of 30 continue to dominate at the top of the game. This was the ninth consecutive men’s Grand Slam title won by 30-somethings.
When Djokovic, troubled by an elbow problem as well as motivational and personal issues, failed to win a Grand Slam title for more than two years it seemed that the Serb’s era of domination might be over, but his comeback this summer, which also saw him win Wimbledon for the fourth time, has been remarkable. He has now done the Wimbledon-US Open double three times in his career.
His joy, nevertheless, contrasted with Del Potro’s disappointment. The 29-year-old Argentinian, who has worked his way back to the top after four wrist operations, was playing his second Grand Slam final nine years after his first, when he won the title here in 2009, but could not find the answers to Djokovic’s consistent brilliance.
Djokovic attributed his success this summer to his family and entourage who had stuck with him through difficult times and added: “When I had surgery on my elbow earlier this year I could truly understand what Juan Martin was going through with his surgeries during the two or three years that kept him away from the tour.
“They were difficult times, but you learn from adversity. You learn when you’re down, when you have doubtful moments, when things are not working out as you want them to.”
The scoreline might suggest this was a straightforward victory, but it was hard-fought from start to finish as Djokovic had to be at his consistent best in the face of Del Potro’s thunderous forehands and booming serves. The Serb was relentlessly accurate in his ball-striking as he kept Del Potro on the back foot and forced the Argentinian into errors.
The weather has changed markedly here in the last three days, bringing rain and much cooler conditions, and for the second day in a row the roof over Arthur Ashe Stadium was closed.
However, on several occasions ball kids had to mop up moisture on the court, which presumably came from either condensation or a leak in the roof. Whatever the cause, someone will be asking how that can happen with a roof that cost $150m to install.
With no wind to contend with and no problems with heat or humidity, it did at least mean that the conditions were all but perfect. From the start both men hit the ball cleanly and it was more than half an hour before either had a break point.
Del Potro went 40-0 up when he served at 3-4, only for Djokovic to make the first break by winning the next five points. They were won in classic Djokovic style as the Serb kept the rallies alive with some precise hitting and eventually forced errors from his opponent. More of the same helped Djokovic to serve out for the set as Del Potro, under pressure, netted a forehand on the first set point.
The second set was a bruising war of attrition. It lasted 95 minutes, making it the longest of the tournament, and demonstrated the resilience of both men.
Djokovic made the early running and broke in the third game as Del Potro made two successive errors on his trusty forehand. Del Potro, nevertheless, has always been a great fighter and in the middle of the set he mounted a spirited fightback.
With Del Potro’s forehand catching fire and Djokovic starting to make some uncharacteristic mistakes, the Argentinian broke back to level at 3-3, to huge roars from the crowd, the majority of whom were clearly backing the underdog.
One of the boxes in the stands was occupied by a group of Del Potro’s friends from his home city of Tandil who have been watching his matches here. The so-called “Tandil Twelve” were in full voice by this stage and Djokovic appeared to be unhappy at the noise from the crowd in inappropriate moments.
However, nobody responds as well in the face of adversity as Djokovic, who at 3-4 down won a game that proved to be the turning point of the match. It lasted 20 minutes and featured eight deuces and three break points for Del Potro, but Djokovic held firm.
The set went to a tie-break in which Del Potro led 3-1 but lost six of the next seven points, making some crucial forehand errors.
At two sets down, Del Potro would not have wanted to know of Djokovic’s record when he has such a lead. In the 205 previous best-of-five-set matches in which the Serb had won the first two sets, he had lost only once, to Jurgen Melzer at the French Open in 2010.
Del Potro retrieved an early break of serve in the third set, but with Djokovic leading 4-3 the Argentinian faltered for the last time.
Serving at 15-30, Del Potro double-faulted for the first time in the match after being distracted by a noise from the crowd on his second serve. Djokovic won the next point in classic fashion, pinning Del Potro back with relentless accuracy until his opponent finally made a mistake by hitting a backhand wide.
Djokovic completed his victory after three hours and 16 minutes, falling on his back in celebration after hitting a winning smash. It has been a superb comeback by the Serb, who could now have Federer’s all-time record of 20 Grand Slam titles in his sights.
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