Novak Djokovic by Dominic Bliss

Author:Dominic Bliss
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ivy Press
Published: 2023-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE MATCH

US OPEN

September 12th 2011

USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, New York City, USA

Final: Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 6–1

The year 2011 was Novak’s annus mirabilis, and of all his matches that year, the US Open final against Rafa Nadal was arguably the most mirabilis of all.

His record so far that season was incredible – some say it was the greatest season ever recorded by a male tennis player. He’d already won nine tournaments in 2011: the Australian Open, Wimbledon, five Masters events, one ATP 500 and one ATP 250. So when he arrived in New York City, as the number-one player in the world, he was favourite to take the title.

His first two rounds, against lowly ranked players, were embarrassingly easy. In the first, his Irish opponent was forced to retire, while in the second, he came very close to dispatching an Argentinian player with a triple bagel. In rounds three and four, Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko and Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov barely resisted. In fact, it wasn’t until the quarter finals, against fellow Serb Janko Tipsarević, that he actually lost a set.

His semi-final against Roger Federer was a different matter altogether, requiring five hard-fought sets over almost four hours.

It wasn’t just each other the players had to combat during that fortnight in New York. The elements, too, provided a significant challenge. As the tournament had been getting underway, an earthquake had struck the eastern seaboard of the United States, requiring officials to undertake structural checks on many of the stands at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

The weather was frightful, too, with the remnants of Hurricane Irene whipping up storms. By the end of the fortnight, heavy rain would push the men’s final from the scheduled Sunday to the following Monday.

By then, Novak knew his opponent would be the mighty Rafa Nadal. From the very start, the level of tennis from both players was astounding. The Spaniard started strongly, breaking serve to take a 2–0 lead, while Novak quickly regrouped, winning six consecutive games to secure the first set. At times, the roaring crowd in the Arthur Ashe Stadium were treated to rallies lasting 20 or more shots, sometimes even 30 or more. While Nadal attempted to blast his opponent off the court, Novak regularly contorted and stretched his arms and legs into seemingly impossible positions in his efforts to retrieve the ball. The Spaniard was bamboozled; the spectators could barely believe their eyes. Even Novak himself seemed surprised at his own athleticism.

The most scintillating game of the match was without doubt the third of the second set – a 17-minute duel with Nadal serving, in which he was pulled, kicking and groaning, into eight deuce points. On the sixth break point, at the end of yet another long, back-breaking rally, Novak finally won the game when the Mallorcan placed a weak smash into the net.

Then followed a duel of epic proportions, the scoreline seesawing frustratingly between each player. On more than a few occasions,

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