Juan Martin del Potro vs Novak Djokovic (3-6, 6-7 [4-7], 3-6)
2018 is officially the year of the comeback. Well, for Novak Djokovic that is.
The Serbian star has had a rough spell over the past two years, suffering physically with a serious elbow injury and dealing with what he described as “personal problems.” However, he showed that those turbulent times are well behind him now as he won his second slam in what has already been a historic year for him.
Djokovic, who won Wimbledon in the summer, made it known that he’s back and that he’s here to stay with a dominant victory over Juan Martin del Potro in the final of the US Open 2018 men’s singles tournament.
Del Potro gave it his all, but the Djoker was undoubtedly at his best form in years and was just unstoppable.
Highlights of the game
Djokovic produced an impeccable performance to win his third US Open title, using his brilliant defence to stop Del Potro’s big serves and to wear down his Argentinean opponent in a gruelling three-hour and 15-minute affair.
The 31-year-old Serb raced to a three-set win, though it wasn’t without drama as he found himself behind—for the first time in the contest—in the second set that eventually went to a tie-break.
ICYMI! Novak Djokovic defeats Juan Martin del Potro, 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3, in the #USOpen final to win his 14th Grand Slam title. pic.twitter.com/8hJZauU2h4
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) September 10, 2018
Djokovic was neck and neck with Del Potro in the opening six games of the final, with the Argentine enjoying himself on his first three service games as he won 12 out of 14 points. After levelling the set at game six, however, things started to go awry for Delpo.
Novak piled the pressure on Del Potro at 4-3, and while the 29-year-old World No.3 almost equalised again at 40-0 in the eighth game, Djokovic hit five straight points to turn the table and get the opening break. The Serbian held on and closed the set as Del Potro netted a backhand.
Djokovic appeared to have the momentum swinging in his favour as he jumped to a 3-1 lead in the second. Nonetheless, Del Potro forced his way back and hit thunderous blows after thunderous blows to level at 3-3.
A monster ace would then find Del Potro ahead at 4-3 and well positioned to get his first break of the match.
In what could be said as one of the key US Open 2018 highlights, Djokovic fought mightily in the marathon eighth game of the second set that took 20 minutes to decide. The Djoker saved three break points during the game and held on to deny Del Potro.
The see-saw affair continued as Djokovic forced a tie-break. The World No.6 found himself behind again in the early exchanges of the tie-break, but he managed to stay alive with his defence and crawled his way back—helped by some crucial errors from Delpo.
The final set seemed to be heading to the same storyline as the second, with Djokovic ahead 3-1 and Delpo wiping out the advantage to tighten things up. Nevertheless, a Del Potro forehand error and a double fault handed Djokovic a break and he never looked back.
A forehand winner brought Djokovic to his championship point, which he took with an overhead smash.
Key statistics
When it comes to the match statistics, there isn’t much difference between the two. In fact, Del Potro had the better service game and hit six aces to Djokovic’s one. They are also both tied with 31 winners in the contest.
Nonetheless, Djokovic did way better on his second serve (26-of-44) and in net points (28-of-37). For what it’s worth, Delpo converted just 16 out of his 32 second-serve points and finished with only 17 net points. It didn’t help Del Potro that he made 47 unforced errors compared to Djokovic’s 38.
Del Potro was clearly competitive in the final, but he failed to convert the key points on crucial moments that would have changed the course of the game for him. He would still be happy with his final run though, especially with the fact that pre-tournament US Open 2018 odds at SBOBET gave him an outside chance to reach the final and win it all against the Big Four…or Three.
On the other hand, with the victory, Djokovic is now tied with American legend Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slam titles—third in the Open Era list. He is also now one of only seven men to ever win the US Open title on three or more occasions, and one of only eight men to win the Wimbledon-US Open double.
What’s next?
The focus of the two now will be on the ATP year-end tournament at the O2 in London.
After back-to-back slam titles, Djokovic climbed to second in the ATP race, only behind Rafael Nadal. If he can maintain his fiery form, it’s not impossible for the Serb to topple Rafa from the no.1 spot in the race and the rankings.
Meanwhile, Del Potro—who won Indian Wells Masters and Mexican Open this year—is currently third in the race and will fancy his chances of making it to the O2.
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