Djokovic Beats Federer, to U.S. Open Final
Top seed Novak Djokovic recovered from a two-set deficit and fought off two match points to beat five-time champion Roger Federer and reach the U.S. Open men’s final against defending champion Rafael Nadal.
Nadal, the second seed from Spain, set up a repeat of the 2010 championship match by defeating Andy Murray, the fourth seed from Britain, 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to join Djokovic in the Sept. 12 final.
Serena Williams of the U.S. and Samantha Stosur of Australia advanced to tomorrow’s women’s final with semifinal wins at the National Tennis Center in New York. Williams, a three-time champion, beat top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark 6-2, 6-4, while ninth-seeded Stosur got past unseeded German Angelique Kerber in three sets.
Djokovic, 24, a Serb who is attempting to become the sixth man to win three of tennis’s four Grand Slam tournaments in one year, improved his 2011 record to 63-2 with a 6-7 (7-9), 4-6, 6- 3, 6-2, 7-5 win.
“I was down two sets and Roger was in control,” Djokovic said in a televised interview before dancing on court to celebrate his win. “I switched gears and managed to play much better the last three sets.”
Just as in last year’s U.S. Open semifinal win against Federer, Djokovic overcame two match points. This time, he blasted a crosscourt service return winner on Federer’s first match point.
‘I Was Lucky’
“If it comes in, it comes in, it’s a risk,” Djokovic said of that shot. “I was gambling. If it’s out, you’ve lost. I was lucky today.”
Federer, who had been 178-0 in Grand Slams when winning the first two sets before losing two of his last six such matches, said he couldn’t understand how Djokovic attempted the shot while facing match point.
“He was mentally out of it, already, and just gets the lucky shot,” Federer said in a news conference. “Snaps one shot, and then the whole thing changes.”
The victory avenges Djokovic’s semifinal loss to Federer at the French Open, the only Grand Slam title Djokovic has failed to win so far this year.
Federer, playing in his first major tournament since turning 30 on Aug. 8, has now lost four of five meetings with Djokovic this year.
“I should have won here, it was just one of those matches, I set it all up perfect but I couldn’t finish it,” he said. “The sport, it’s very cruel and tough sometimes.”
Stosur to Final
Williams, who won U.S. Open titles in 1999, 2002 and 2008, remains the only player yet to drop a set at this year’s tournament after improving to 3-0 against Wozniacki. She also won in 2002 and 2008 without losing a set.
Stosur, who will be playing in her second Grand Slam final after finishing as runner-up at the 2010 French Open, won 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 against Kerber. She moved one win away from becoming the first Australian woman to earn a U.S. Open title since Margaret Court captured the last of her record 24 singles titles in New York in 1973.
The loss by Federer, who has a men’s record 16 Grand Slam singles titles, means he failed to win any of the tennis season’s major tournaments -- Wimbledon and the Australian, French and U.S. opens -- for the first time since 2002. Federer won the U.S. Open title every year from 2004 to 2008.
Federer, who was seeded third at the U.S. Open, won his last Grand Slam title at the 2010 Australian Open. Since then, he has made just one final at a major -- losing the French Open championship match this June to Nadal.
Djokovic’s Season
Djokovic won his second Australian Open this year, beating Murray in straight sets. He captured Wimbledon with a four-set win against Nadal. Djokovic became the world’s top-ranked player following the Wimbledon win.
Djokovic began a run of 43 straight victories when he led Serbia to its first Davis Cup title in December. The streak ended with a semifinal loss to Federer at the French Open, leaving him one win shy of tying the record of 41 wins to start a season, set by John McEnroe in 1984.
The other defeat came against Murray last month in Cincinnati, when Djokovic retired because of a shoulder injury while trailing 6-4, 3-0. He has said during the U.S. Open that the injury hasn’t affected his play.
Djokovic became first player to win five ATP World Tour Masters tennis titles in one season when he won the Rogers Cup in Montreal last month.
To contact the reporter on this story: Rob Gloster at the National Tennis Center in New York, at rgloster@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Sillup at msillup@bloomberg.net
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