Novak Djokovic confirms his return to the top. The Serbian won on Sunday the 14th Grand Slam of his career – the second this season after Wimbledon – by easily dominating Juan Martin del Potro in three sets (6-3, 7-6[4], 6-3) and 3: 15 in the game. This is the third time that the former world number one has won at Flushing Meadows.
The boss is back. After the resurrection of Wimbledon, which could seem surprising, Novak Djokovic magisterally confirmed his return to grace. His victory in Cincinnati had set him up as a favorite for the US Open and nothing and no one could stop his triumphal March again. Juan Martin del Potro no more than the others. The Argentinean battled as long as he could, but he returned the weapons in three sets (6-3, 7-6, 6-3), even if it still took three and a quarter hours to close them. This 14th Grand Slam title installs the Serbian to the tune of a Pete Sampras.
Nine years after his title on the same short Arthur-Ashe, Juan Martin del Potro, the champion returned from the abyss, dreamed of finishing his beautiful story. But he came across an exceptional Djokovic during most of this final. Apart from a second set with a knife, which alone ate half the length of the game, during which he posted Novak Djokovic confirms his return to the top. The Serbian won on Sunday the 14th Grand Slam of his career – the second this season after Wimbledon – by easily dominating Juan Martin del Potro in three sets (6-3, 7-6[4], 6-3) and 3: 15 in the game. This is the third time that the former world number one has won at Flushing Meadows.
The twenty-minute game that could have changed everything
The first set set set the tone. After the usual tension of the first games, the Djoker Put a first 4-3 banderille in his favor, breaking Del Potro who led 40-0 in this game. A hard blow for the Argentinean from Tandil who, by the time he got back to the place, found himself LED 6-3, 3-1. Djokovic then played with the precision of a watchmaker. Everything was thought out, precise and masterfully executed. This final, long awaited, seemed then to have left to be expedient. But “Delpo” had not waited nine years for his second major final to drop the piece so easily.
It was on one of his service games that the Argentinean got back on his feet. One big point, then another, a call to the public and he was, finally, in his game. In the process, he disengaged to join three everywhere. We finally had a final. She reached her climax a few moments later, in an astounding eighth game, twenty minutes long. In a hurry, Djokovic then made mistakes that were foreign to him during a set and a half. Del Potro got no less than three break opportunities that would have opened the door wide to him. But he couldn’t hit the nail. First regrets, followed by another in the tie-break, where he led 3-1 before being dropped by his strong shot, the right shot, to tip 7 points to 4.
Could This set Have changed everything ? We will never know, but he would have given this final another dimension, which could no longer escape Novak Djokovic. Even though the Serb squandered a first break ahead at 3-1, he put a final throttle hit at 4-3. One more break, one too many from Del Potro. After one last smash, the Djoker collapsed on the court. We were back two and a half years, when there was him and the others, when nothing escaped him. The wheel has been spinning a lot lately. Federer, then Nadal, had taken over. It’s now Djokovic’s turn. Not sure he leaves soon.