It is a rivalry which has become one of the most famous in sporting history. In the US Open final Novak Djokovic will play Roger Federer for the 42nd time in his career, 6th in 2015. Federer narrowly leads the head-to-head 21-20. The two players have a combined record of 26 Grand Slam titles (17 for Federer and 9 for Djokovic), 48 Masters titles (24 each) and 141 ATP titles (87 for Federer and 54 for Djokovic).
Djokovic’s route to the final has encountered some minor difficulties. After three straight sets wins at the start of the competition against Joao Souza, Andreas Haider-Maurer and Andreas Seppi, the world number 1 encountered his first test. Facing 23rd seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the last sixteen, he dropped his first set in the tournament. It was also the first time this year the audience witnessed a frustrated Djokovic on the court. The frustration was clear as he broke his racket after dropping the second set of that match.
Na setverlies moest het racket van Djokovic eraan geloven. De nummer 1 won wel in 4 sets van Bautista Agut! #USOpen https://t.co/u9Zf4WmwZ9
— Betweters (@betweters) September 7, 2015
Despite the blip, Djokovic was still able to ease his way past the Spaniard. Bautista Agut wasn’t the only Spanish player to trouble the world number 1. In the last eight Feliciano Lopez also took a set off Djokovic before losing in four sets. Despite the duo of blips, the top seed reminded of the world of why he is the leading man in the draw as he produced a comprehensive semi-final win against a below-par Marin Cilic. The Serbian was in outstanding form, dropping three games during the 85-minute match as he moved into his 18th Grand Slam final.
In contrast Federer’s journey to the final has been a smooth experience with the 34-year-old not dropping a single set. His biggest test in the six matches leading to the final was his fourth round meeting with John Isner when he was taken to two tie-breaks. In the last eight, he dropped 7 games against Richard Gasquet to set up an all-Swiss meeting with Stan Wawrinka. Leading up to the meeting, Wawrinka produced a convincing victory over Kevin Anderson in the quarter-final and it was expected that he would be a big threat to Federer’s title hopes. The French Open champion was however no match for Federer as the 34-year-old fired 29 winners without dropping a single service game in his 6-4,6-3,6-1, win to set up another encounter with Djokovic.
Despite playing each other 41 times, there is still room for the unexpected which was evident during their last encounter at the Western and Southern Open. Federer displayed a new more aggressive play against the world number 1 as he cruised to a straight sets victory. The chip and charge tactic from Federer proved effective with him winning 21/29 points at the net. The new play from the Swiss earn the nickname SABR (Sneak Attack By Roger). It is expected by many that this approach will be repeated again in the final by Federer, however Djokovic has recently dismissed the significance of it.
“[Federer] tried that [tactic] in Cincinnati. It worked a couple of times. It’s an exciting shot for him. For the player opposite side of the net, not so much. So I have nothing else to say about that,” Djokovic said.
The two have battled against each other on three different surfaces this year. They have played on hard-courts three times, once on grass and once on clay. The world number 1 leads the head-to-head 3-2, however both of Federer’s win occurred on a hard-court. Meeting number 42 is tough to predict. Federer was invincible in their last match as he out-powered and out-hit the Serbian. On the other hand Djokovic was at his peak in the semi-final of the US Open as he crushed the defending champion on the Arthur Ashe Stadium. There is however one certainty, a match with these two titans of tennis involved, on one of the biggest stadiums in the world, will never disappoint.
