2015 U.S. Open Final: Djokovic v. Federer

[Murat Baslamisli]

Anyone knows the time of the final?

 

[nehmeth]

4PM Eastern Standard Time.

 

[Riotbeard]

Oh yeah, I think Novak will win. I think at this point, if both guys produce their best Novak wins. People talk about the USO surface favoring Roger like they are playing on carpet. As Roger said last night on ESPN, Grass still favors the servers more than the USO, and the Wimbledon final was pretty routine.

This year's was routine 'cos Roger was much better there last year where 6-4 in the 5th is pretty far from routine Roger didn't play well at this year's Wimbledon final at all compared to last year. He played his best match against Murray unfortunately.

Conversely Novak played better this year without as many hiccups as he had in 14'. It's that dynamic of how much does one player playing well affect the play of his opponent

Yeah IMO, 2014 should have been in 4 too.

 

[nehmeth]

Yeah IMO, 2014 should have been in 4 too.

Exactly.

 

[Denis]

Yeah IMO, 2014 should have been in 4 too.

Exactly.

Could have been straights even. Roger sneaked out the first set too.

 

[Front242]

^ Nah. Roger was poor in the 3rd set TB and that decided who was gonna be up 2 sets to 1 at the point. He played great all that 3rd set to take it to another TB and then stunk the joint up in the TB. Same as Indian Wells 2014. A very good 3rd set and the same lame TB.

 

[AnonymousFan]

Could the match be postponed until Monday?

 

[DarthFed]

Yeah IMO, 2014 should have been in 4 too.

Exactly.

Could have been straights even. Roger sneaked out the first set too.

If Nole had won the 1st set then Roger would've come out more desperate in the 2nd similar to what you saw this year. Also if we get into the "what if" games we could also mention how the fat cow of a line judge missed a line clipper in one of Nole's service games in the 3rd set that would've made it 0-30

Anyways I disagree with those saying Nole played better in this year's final, he barely had to get out of 1st gear this year as Roger stunk up the place. Roger would've been beaten by Murray if he played like that in the semi.

 

[DarthFed]

Sampras fought hard to win #14 and then couldn't find the motivation to try for more. Now of course he regrets it as Roger came along and destroyed his record just 7 years after Sampras won his last one. Records are made to be broken but you're kidding yourself if you think guys like Roger don't want to hold onto them as long as possible.

For those reasons, there is a big difference between 18 and 17, moreover a 6th USO is a record and we could then call Roger the king of the USO, just like #8 at Wimbledon would make him the king there. I think you're searching too hard for reasons as to why Roger shouldn't be hugely motivated to win tomorrow.

Again, your point was about who needs it more. Clearly, Djokovic is not even close to those numbers. So he needs it more according to your logic. Federer is one slam from 18. Djokovic 9.

Maybe you should have said you want Federer to win more than Djokovic. That would be logical to hear from you. But that Federer needs it more than Djokovic is just poor reasoning.

So who needs it more is based solely on who has more slams between the players? Speaking of poor reasoning. I guess literally every single one of Roger's opponents the past 10 years has "needed" to win a given match more than he did.

Nole is the dominant #1 who figures to have a few good years left irrespective of the result tomorrow. Roger is the old timer who hasn't done much the past few years and is looking for what would likely be one last dance with glory.

 

[Kirijax]

I think djokovic needs it more. Federer's place in history is secure. Djokovic is still trying to work his way up the ladder and needs to take these while he's still the solid No. 1. In two or three years, he could be in Federer's position.

 

[Denis]

Sampras fought hard to win #14 and then couldn't find the motivation to try for more. Now of course he regrets it as Roger came along and destroyed his record just 7 years after Sampras won his last one. Records are made to be broken but you're kidding yourself if you think guys like Roger don't want to hold onto them as long as possible.

For those reasons, there is a big difference between 18 and 17, moreover a 6th USO is a record and we could then call Roger the king of the USO, just like #8 at Wimbledon would make him the king there. I think you're searching too hard for reasons as to why Roger shouldn't be hugely motivated to win tomorrow.

Again, your point was about who needs it more. Clearly, Djokovic is not even close to those numbers. So he needs it more according to your logic. Federer is one slam from 18. Djokovic 9.

Maybe you should have said you want Federer to win more than Djokovic. That would be logical to hear from you. But that Federer needs it more than Djokovic is just poor reasoning.

So who needs it more is based solely on who has more slams between the players? Speaking of poor reasoning. I guess literally every single one of Roger's opponents the past 10 years has "needed" to win a given match more than he did.

Nole is the dominant #1 who figures to have a few good years left irrespective of the result tomorrow. Roger is the old timer who hasn't done much the past few years and is looking for what would likely be one last dance with glory.

You're kidding me right? What are we talking about otherwise. Marbles?

In terms of career trajectory Djokovic needs this more than Federer. At age 28 Federer had 16 Grand Slams, Djokovic 9 and possibly 11 if he wins the next two.

 

[DarthFed]

In terms of career trajectory Djokovic is way off the pace. If Djokovic hits 17 he will have aged better than any athlete in any sport ever has and by a good margin. The point I'm making is that Djokovic still has plenty of time to build his resume while for Roger time is running out.

Roger is the current record holder and how much he "needs" 18 and beyond isn't just limited to staying ahead of Djokovic, it's about helping him stay ahead of a certain Spaniard and making it more difficult for future players to break his record. Also, as mentioned before he is attempting to go for the record # of USO's again and trying to break a long drought at the majors.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

Well, I am going to go with Djokovic. There is a reason Roger hasn't won it in a while. I don't think this will be an easy match no matter what form he showed getting here.

 

[Riotbeard]

Can we compromise and say neither player needs another slam?

 

[Kirijax]

Can we compromise and say neither player needs another slam?

lol Good point!

 

[Fiero425]

Can we compromise and say neither player needs another slam?

Neither "needs" it, but Nole can use it more than Roger! Fed's had his time; this is Nole's! Unless he gets to 12, he'll only be a footnote after the historians finish raving about the rivalry of Federer and Nadal! I personally think he's done enough and will eclipse a few ATP records soon, but memories are fleeting and his record isn't half as gaudy as "The Big 2!" After all is said and done, I think Djokovic will be above .500 in his H2H record with rivals, setting a new record for Masters 1000 championship wins, and of course great seasons with multiple majors and few losses getting to final after final! :clap :angel: :dodgy:

 

[GameSetAndMath]

4PM Eastern Standard Time.

4PM EDT.

 

[Sundaymorningguy]

In terms of who could use this more Djokovic. This win will put him in double digits. Realistically, he could have it in him to win 2-3 slams next year and then after that it gets maybe dicier depending on what happens. I think surpassing Roger will be hard, but Nadal's number certainly looks more passable if he gets this win.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Bodo picks Fed.

 

[Backhand_DTL]

I think it's quite close to a 50/50 match. Roger seems to play a bit better but that might be in parts because in routine wins Roger often looks great while Novak more makes his opponents look bad. Playing best of five should favour Novak, the speed of the surface and the conditions with the roof construction already minimizing the impact of the wind are probably fairly neutral for their match-up.

In my opinion the first set is very important for Roger. If Novak wins it he would probably have a physical advantage deep in the match if he can make sure Roger has to work hard to even the score. But playing from ahead Roger seemed able to further raise his level and looked close to unstoppable recently, so Novak might have a hard time establishing patterns that favor him in that case.

Also I actually don't think Novak is that outstanding at getting Roger's serve back into play. For me what sets Novak apart is that the returns he makes often have a high enough quality to get himself into a rally and that in most matches he has patches where he even off first serves produces multiple great returns in a row and creates huge pressure on the server.

The first percentage (his percentage of first serves won can be expected to be high) and the percentage of second serves won will probably be the key numbers for Roger. Since the grass court season in most matches he was great in at least one of those categories, which meant that he was serving very well or was quite good in backing up the serve off the ground. Either thing results in him having a fair share of easy holds which allows him to play more freely on the return. As he seems to continue to struggle with Novak's serve (even in Cincinnati where Novak served rather poorly by his 2015 standards Roger only broke in a game where Novak made three double faults) mostly cruising on his own serve is probably necessary for Roger to feel good in this match-up.

In conclusion I think Novak winning in five sets is the most likely result but even a rather easy win for Federer wouldn't surprise me too much.