Nadal, Djokovic to Meet in US Open Tennis Final

Number-one ranked Raphael Nadal has finally made it to the finals of the U.S. Open. There, he will meet 23-year-old Serbian Novak Djokovic, ranked No. 3 in the world. This will be Djokovic’s second trip to the finals at Flushing Meadows.

Nadal defeated 14th–ranked Russian Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets, 6–2, 6–3, 6–4. Youzhny managed to give his Spanish opponent a few very hard points, but only managed one break of serve. Nadal was more troubled by blisters on his toes, than by his opponent.

"For me it is a dream,” Nadal told CBS. “Now I am going to play in the final here for the first time, on the biggest center court of the world, so every time I can come back here I try my best.

"I played well in the tournament, which was good for my confidence. Maybe he was a little more tired than me, he played longer matches than me during the week."

Nadal said he planned to watch the next semifinal match. “Of course, I love tennis and it’s going to be a great match, so I am going to see Roger and Novak. We will see what happens.”

Nadal ended on a serious note. “One thing I don’t want to forget—this is a very special day. I want to [express my] support for the victims of 9/11 and their families.”

Nadal made only 19 unforced errors in three sets and only one double fault. He played most of the game from the baseline, not bothering to approach the net. When he did approach, Youzhny beat him 35 percent of the time.

While Nadal did not play badly, he did not dominate. It remains to be seen if he will elevate his game when he faces Djokovic in the finals.

Djokovic Downs Federer in Five Sets

Roger Federer came into the semifinals riding a string of six consecutive U.S. Open victories. Ranked as the second-best player in the world, he faced an opponent six years younger and vastly less experienced. But Federer was not at his best, and Djokovic was, delivering a match that earns the overused adjective, “epic.”

 “It’s really hard to describe the feeling that I have right now,” Djokovic told CBS. “Ten minutes ago I was just a point from losing this match, and now I managed to win. 

"It was a great pleasure playing in this kind of match—it’s one of those matches that you will always remember in your career and I am just so thrilled to be in the final."

When asked how courageous he had to be to come back in the final set, Djokovic joked, “To be honest I was just closing my eyes and hitting the forehand as fast as I can on match point …If it goes in, it goes in, if it goes out—another loss to Federer in this Open. Like I said before the match, just a couple of points would decide the winner."

Federer and Djokovic slugged it out for five sets, running each other hard and hitting even harder. The final score was 5–7, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2, 7–5.

Federer’s serve was not working for him: he made only 53 percent of his first serves, 12 aces, and 5 double faults. More telling, Federer hit 66 unforced errors, nearly twice Djokovic’s 38.

Djokovic seemed to miss more important shots, possibly due to the pressure of facing Federer to reach the finals, but he also seemed to have Federer on the run more often. Federer won more of his games in gutsy come-from-behind efforts, fighting back from far behind.

All of Federer’s sets went to 12 games, while Djokovic steamrolled Federer in the second set, 6–1, and the fourth set, 6–2.

Djokovic seemed to win his points with ripping forehands deep into the corners of the court or with brilliant volleying at the net. Both players did well at the net, but Djokovic won some morale-building multi-shot face-to-face exchanges with Federer.

Ultimately, Djokovic was fast enough to run down most of Federer’s shots, and hit well enough to keep Federer running.

How much Djokovic will have left when he faces Nadal Sunday evening is anybody’s guess. But at the very least, the young Serb has shown he can face a tennis legend on his own turf and come out on top. Tomorrow’s match promises to be exciting.