John McEnroe, for one, thinks Federer can win another major – but never again be No1.After what was a routine first semi-final, the drama was ratcheted up to unbearable levels in the second, as a packed Arthur Ashe Stadium witnessed the public suffering of a legend and the rising confidence of his adversary, who has lost to Federer here the past three years at this stage.Federer has always made tennis look easy; the bead of sweat staining the back of his blue shirt told another story from the second set onwards.
The final will start at 4pm local time in New York, so at 9pm in London.
For four sets I was quite OK but the fifth set was very intensive mentally and physically and took a lot out of me. Els tied McDowell at 3-under for the lead after his sixth hole, but a streak of bogey-double bogey-bogey at the turn severely damaged Els' hopes. All rights reserved. McDowell was the first European to win the U.S. Open in forty years, since Tony Jacklin of England won in 1970.
The Spaniard, 24, won a rain-interrupted final 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 at Flushing Meadows in New York. Djokovic had played the second of Super Saturday's semi-finals, and his five-set victory over Roger Federer had taken a lot out of him – physically, mentally and emotionally.
The world No 1 could also become the first man since 1960 to win the US Open without dropping a set if he can beat Djokovic in three.
He finished with an 82, 16 strokes higher than he scores in the third round. His forehand now was a liability rather than a weapon and he pushed yet another one off course. Some of the Serb's fighting tennis was sublime, particularly after losing a desperately close first set, and he put such pressure on Federer that his game unravelled at key moments, most spectacularly in the second set, which went by in a mere 29 minutes. There was a rare desperation in his tennis. Djokovic, the world No 3, will be playing in his first grand slam final since he won the 2008 Australian Open. In the final, Djokovic was chasing the second Grand Slam of his career, having previously won the Australian Open in 2008. That left McDowell in the 18th fairway at even par, needing to make par to win the 2010 U.S. Open. About the only person in New York City who would have been pleased to have heard that news was Novak Djokovic, as that gave him an extra day's rest and recovery before he plays Rafael Nadal for the title. With Johnson's collapse, and with McDowell giving a couple strokes back, the two superstars were never out of the mix, they just weren't able to make any birdies. Then Havret - who played best among the final-round leaders - reached the 72nd hole, and he missed a birdie putt. He looked like the Tiger of old, hitting big shots, sinking big putts, making big fist pumps, drawing huge cheers. "And maybe there are bigger fights up the road. Novak Djokovic prevented a dream US Open final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal by beating the Swiss legend in a thrilling semi-final at Flushing Meadows. Brent Kelley is an award-winning sports journalist and golf expert with over 30 years in print and online journalism. And they got it. Earlier in the tournament, the hottest weather in New York's history almost led to Djokovic's departure from Flushing Meadows, as he was suffering physically in the heat and almost lost his first-round match to his countryman Viktor Troicki, and now the rain has arrived to help him. 2010 US Open Final Scores and Recap of the 2010 US Open. Djokovic recovered from two sets to one down and saved two match points to beat When told that rain was forecast for Sunday, Djokovic said: "Really? He could sense the apprehension across the net and, although he himself is no model of consistency, he let his talent flow against the faltering giant.Federer recovered some composure to take the third without convincing either Djokovic or those watching that he was functioning at full force again.
I will do my best to recover and give him my best challenge. However, although Djokovic trails Nadal 14-7 overall in their career head-to-head, the Serbian has won their last three meetings and has a 7-3 win-loss record on hard courts against the left-hander. And no one should have been unhappier than Nadal, who is just three sets away from completing his set of grand slam titles, as if this final had been played as scheduled he would have been at a distinct advantage.