Holy smokes! I am virtually speechless. That was one of the most epic US Open finals I have seen in a long time (Del Potro’s win in 2009 was epic as well)! Djokovic was the favorite going into the match but Nadal was the defending champion, so the house was split 50/50.
Djokovic came out firing, he really took it to Nadal, I mean really took it to him. Nole outhit Rafa from all points of the tennis court. Down the line winners, net points, forced errors were all in favor of the world #1. Nadal had a look of total confusion on his face, bewildered at what was happening in front of him.
In the third set, Nadal had a second wind (or was it a first wind?) where he seemed to intensify his play, he came back to from 4-5 with Djokovic serving for the match, to take it to a tie breaker. Nadal took an early lead in the tie breaker and was able to close out the set. Djokovic was not done with the beating he was putting on the Spanish fighter.
In the fourth set, early on, Djokovic called for a medical timeout; apparently having lower back issues, so the trainer came out, took care of the Serb and play continued. Whatever that trainer did to Novak worked; Nole came out swinging to send a barrage of winners at Nadal forcing errors and taking winners all over the place.
The exchanges that two had were of epic proportions, unreal points. There was one point in the match that lasted 31 shots between the two, that was absolutely amazing. The crowd loved it, they cheered, jumped out of their seats, and even were told by the chair to keep a lid on it. What an intense 4 hours and 10 minutes from two of the world’s greatest tennis players.
Has Djokovic’s win dethroned Nadal? Absolutely not, Djokovic did that to Nadal at the beginning of the year but I think this is the beginning of tennis’ new rivalry. Nadal played a valiant match, but Novak was right there with him and seemed to be energized more and desired the win more.
I have to absolutely give a TON of credit to Novak Djokovic for coming onto court with and NYPD/NYFD cap on, that shows a lot of how much he respects the people of New York and the tragedies of 2001. Good for him.
Novak Djokovic 2011 US Open Champion 6-2, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
- 2021 French Open Wilson Racquets - April 13, 2021
- Slinger Bag and Wilson Tennis Collaboration - March 2, 2021
- Wilson Tennis and Romero Britto - February 22, 2021
Crazy game. I loved the intensity in the 3rd set tiebreaker.