Djokovic wins third US Open, equals Sampras on 14 Grand Slams

New York, United States — Novak Djokovic clinched his third US Open title on Sunday with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 triumph over Juan Martin del Potro, taking him level with Pete Sampras’s mark of 14 Grand Slams.

Djokovic, playing in his eighth final in New York and already the champion in 2011 and 2015, is now just three Slams behind Rafael Nadal and six back from the record 20 held by Roger Federer.

It was also the third time the 31-year-old Serb — who missed last year’s tournament with an elbow injury which sent his career into a mini-crisis — completed the Wimbledon-US Open double.

For world number three Del Potro, it was a heartbreaking experience coming in just his second Slam final, nine years after he was crowned US Open champion.

It was Djokovic’s 15th win over the Argentine and fifth in five at the Slams.

Victory also means that 50 of the last 55 majors have been win by the ‘Big Four’ of Federer, Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray.

With the Arthur Ashe Stadium roof closed as heavy rain swept New York, conditions were slow and sluggish.

After taking just two points off Del Potro’s first three service games, Djokovic, in his eighth final in New York and 23rd at the majors, pounced to break for 5-3.

The key was his success with a lung-busting 22-shot rally and he pocketed the set when the 29-year-old del Potro netted a forehand.

It was only the second set dropped by the Argentine at the tournament.

For Djokovic, it was an illustration of him growing into the championships as he took his run of consecutive sets won to 14, stretching back to the second round against Tennys Sandgren.

Djokovic was soon 3-1 up in the second set before Del Potro carved out his first break point of the match to level at 3-3.

He had three more chances in the eighth, all saved by Djokovic in a marathon 20-minute game which left even Hollywood superstar Meryl Streep clasping her head in astonishment.

The effort took its toll on a suddenly weary-looking Del Potro as a 95-minute set was claimed by Djokovic in the tiebreak.

Del Potro was looking at having to become the first man since Pancho Gonales in 1949 to win the US title from two sets down.

Djokovic sprinted into a 3-1 lead in the third set before a battling Del Potro clung on, hitting back for 3-3.

But off the back of a 24-shot rally, Djokovic broke again for 5-3 and he was within tantalising touching distance of his 14th Grand Slam title, just three months after he had left Roland Garros in despair after a shattering quarter-final exit. /cbb

source: sports.inquirer.net

Federer reaches crossroads at Wimbledon

Fifteen years after famously stunning Pete Sampras at Wimbledon, seven-time champion Roger Federer returns to the All England Club with his career at a crossroads and his confidence at crisis point.

The 34-year-old Swiss, holder of a record 17 Grand Slam titles, is without a major since Wimbledon in 2012 and is enduring arguably the toughest year of his career.

Injury forced him to skip the French Open ending a streak of 65 successive appearances at the Slams stretching back to 1999.

He has failed to add to his 88 titles this year, his longest drought since 2000 and has suffered back-to-back semi-final losses in Stuttgart and Halle, both on grass which has been his preferred surface of domination.

In an indication of changing times, his last-four loss in Stuttgart to Alexander Zverev was his first against a teenager in 10 years.

But the Swiss star is adamant that he can still be a winner even if clinching an eighth crown at Wimbledon would make him the oldest ever champion in south-west London, surpassing Arthur Ashe who was a month shy of his 32nd birthday when he lifted the trophy in 1975.

“I think if my movement gets better and then the baseline game improves a little bit, I’ll be better on the big points, on the return and also in less trouble on my own service games,” said Federer.

“But I’m okay and I’m pleased. I’m feeling now we’ve got enough time before Wimbledon to get ready for that.”

The fact that Federer has reached the last two Wimbledon finals is testament to his capacity to surprise both his supporters and doubters.

The problem, however, is that he lost both those championship matches to Novak Djokovic, the world number one who currently holds all four majors and is halfway to the first calendar Grand Slam since 1969.

Djokovic leads their head-to-head only by 23-22, but has claimed their last four clashes at the majors. Federer hasn’t defeated the Serb at a Slam since the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2012.

“Is Djokovic now the man to beat? Absolutely. Does he deserve to be where he is? 100 per cent. But is he beatable? Yes, of course he is. I beat him three times last year,” Federer told the Guardian this week.

Wimbledon has always been Federer’s home-from-home even if his first two visits as a pony-tailed contender with a short fuse and dream one-handed backhand ended in first round losses.

But his fourth round defeat of seven-time winner Sampras in 2001 marked him out as the American’s natural heir even if 2002 saw a woeful first round exit to Mario Ancic.

That blip was forgotten 12 months later when he won his first Wimbledon, spiking the heavy artillery of Mark Philippoussis in the final.

Since then, he has enjoyed more successes than setbacks.

Federer won the title every year between 2003 and 2007, adding two more in 2009 and 2012.

In between, he lost the 2008 final to Rafael Nadal in what is widely-regarded as the finest men’s championship match in history, a five-set epic which ended in semi-darkness.

However, there was also a shock second round exit to world number 116 Sergiy Stakhovsky in 2013.

Federer was 31 then and the career obituaries were being composed. They have been dusted off a few times since.

“Don’t you understand that playing tennis is great fun? I don’t need to win three slams a year to be content,” he told the Guardian.

“If the body doesn’t want to do it, if the mind doesn’t want to do it, if my wife doesn’t want me to do it, if my kids don’t like it, I’ll stop tomorrow. Zero problem.”

source: sports.inquirer.net