There is no feeling quite like it, no words more impressive on a resume than “US Open champion.” Very few know that feeling, if only because so few have the means to lift themselves into that rarified air. Winning seven matches may not seem like all that much, but winning seven matches in the heat of the New York summer, before the world’s most demanding fans, against the world’s greatest players is this sport’s ultimate test. When you’ve passed it, you are a champion in the truest sense of the word.
The curtain comes down this afternoon on the 2018 US Open, with a men’s final that features two men who both fit that singular description—two-time US Open champion Novak Djokovic and 2009 titlist Juan Martin del Potro. After a bruising two weeks in which 126 others fell by the wayside, this day will feature a final showdown between two proven champs—each with just a little more left to prove. At day’s end, one player will own the stage—and tennis’ toughest title. With so much on the line, and so much talent between the lines, this final act promises to close the Open in high style.
No. 6 seed Djokovic, who took the title here in 2011 and 2015, is into his eighth career final in Flushing—tying him with Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl for most among men in the Open era. The 31-year-old Serb owns 13 major crowns, putting him behind only Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Pete Sampras on the all-time leaderboard.
As well as the former No. 1 is playing now, it’s easy to forget that Djokovic missed the US Open last year, sidelined with a bothersome elbow that required surgery early this year. His forced absence from this place in 2017 was personally painful to him for a variety of reasons; not the least of which being that this is his favorite event. Moreover, the injury put an end to his streak of competing in 51 consecutive majors. For a warrior like Djokovic, few things are more painful than missing the battle.
But post-surgery, Djokovic returned to the fray with a reignited resolve and refreshed focus, and in July, he ended a 54-week title drought and captured his 13th Grand Slam title with a win at Wimbledon, taking out Kei Nishikori, Nadal and Kevin Anderson to claim the crown. In August, he captured his 70th career singles title with a win at the hard-court US Open Series event in Cincinnati, hammering Federer in that final. It’d be easy to say he’s been a different player since those wins, but the truth is he’s looking a lot like the same player who owned the year-end No. 1 ranking in four of five years between 2011 and 2015.
Here, the Serb has surged through his half of the draw; after back-to-back four-setters at the start of the tournament, he’s not dropped a set in his last four matches. His 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 semifinal win over Nishikori was nothing short of clinical. In that match, Djokovic won an impressive 80 percent of his first-serve points and 71 percent of second-serve points. He got in 81 percent of his returns and broke Nishikori four times, while saving the only two break points he faced. You want a definition of near-perfection? Through six matches, Djokovic has won a staggering 95 percent of his service games.
Del Potro, the No. 3 seed, has likewise made an impressive advance to his second career major final, dropping just one set along the way. The 29-year-old Argentine is well aware of what it takes to string together seven matches on a major stage, having captured his first—and to date, only—Grand Slam title here in 2009, taking out Nadal in the semis before halting Federer’s 40-match win streak in an epic five-set final. On the heels of that win, del Potro was hailed as the next big thing, only to have a series of wrist injuries and subsequent surgeries detour his ascent. In 2010, del Potro missed three of the game’s Big Four, and from 2014-17, del Potro was absent from 10 Slams. In 2015, he sat out the entire season, contemplating retirement as his ranking dropped to No. 581.
But healthy now, the Argentine is once again a serious threat to finish first in Flushing, again punishing opponents with his trademark power game that is played with remarkable poise and precision. Del Potro has a long-running love affair with this place, and the fan favorite always seems able to raise his game on the hard floors of Flushing. Now ranked a career-high No. 3, del Potro has had a solid—if not spectacular—season at the Slams in 2018, losing in the third round in Australia but reaching the semis at Roland Garros and the Wimbledon quarters. He’s this year won two singles titles—both on hard courts—at Indian Wells and Acapulco, beating Federer in the final of the former.
In playing his way into this year’s Flushing finale, del Potro has displayed laser focus, along with a lethal serve and explosive ground game. He’s blasted 68 aces to this point, winning 82 percent of his first-serve points. He’s won 92 percent of his service games and has been broken just three times, facing a mere 10 break opportunities. Off the ground, he’s nailed 218 winners against 123 unforced errors. His six wins to this point have increased his career US Open record to 35-8.
Even though his semifinal against Nadal ended abruptly when the top seed was forced to retire with a knee injury, del Potro already had worked his way out in front in that match, taking a 7-6, 6-2 lead. We’ll never know if that match had the potential of being more of a battle, but it’s clear that you’d be hard-pressed to find more of a battler than the Argentine. There may be players with more titles; there are few with more heart.
Djokovic and del Potro are great friends and familiar foes. They have faced off across the net 18 times in their careers, with Djokovic owning a sizeable 14-4 edge, including wins in all four of their meetings at the majors. They’ve met here just twice, with Djokovic winning a third-round encounter in 2007 and a quarterfinal matchup in 2012. Should the Serb be able to take this meeting, he’d pull off the Wimbledon-US Open double for the third time in his career, and pull even with Sampras at 14 Grand Slam singles crowns.
This will be a good one, contested by two great ones; two heavyweight champs that can punch—and counter-punch with the best of them. But this del Potro advance has been special. He’s back in his favorite place; back where he was first touched by the singular sort of magic that has defined the US Open over its 50 years. And now he’s back in the final, partly because of that magic but more largely because he’s endured. Both men have, really, but for del Potro, the journey has been extra tough, so a second title here would be extra rewarding.
When champions of this caliber collide, the result is rarely less-than-brilliant. Today’s final is a meeting of remarkable men; as much a battle of head and heart as it is of serves and ground strokes. Get familiar with the edge of your seat—this ought to be some ride. In a furious five, del Potro is the 2018 US Open men’s champion.
