No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic beat No. 2 seed Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 in front of a raucously pro-Federer crowd to win the U.S. Open.
Djokovic has had an amazingly successful year. He has a 63-5 record, and won three of the four major tournaments. If he hadn’t lost in the final of the French Open, he would have won the elusive calendar Grand Slam, which no man has won since Rod Laver in 1969.
And Federer, the No. 2 seed, came in playing perhaps as well as he has in years. He had not lost a set in the U.S. Open before the final.
After the match, Djokovic called Federer “probably the best player in the history of the game” and said this was one of the best seasons of his career. “And I’m enjoying it more than any other season because I’m a husband and a father now,” he said.
Federer, a 34-year-old from Switzerland, has won more Grand Slam tournaments — 17 — than any man in the history of tennis.
He tried everything he could to win, including his new SABR move — sneak attack by Roger — during which he creeps up to the service line and hits a half volley on his opponent’s second serve.
But Djokovic, a 28-year-old from Serbia, was too good. He is in his prime and played the match’s crucial points better than Federer, who won only four of the 23 break points he had.
Djokovic is No. 1 in the world and has now won 10 Grand Slam tournaments, including the U.S. Open twice. It will be interesting to see how many more Grand Slam titles he will win before he retires. He is incredibly consistent and fit, so it’s conceivable he can win several more.
Djokovic received a check for $3.3 million for his victory.
The other big winner in the final was Eva Asderaki-Moore, who became the first woman to umpire a U.S. Open men’s final. She overruled linespeople on calls several times during the match, and was correct each time.
