Up against a partisan crowd and a merciless Federer, Novak Djokovic still could not be stopped

Ahmed Rizvi analyses the men's US Open final and explains why the Novak Djokovic juggernaut is no closer to slowing down.

Novak Djokovic won his 10th major title and second US Open with a four set victory over Roger Federer. Justin Lane / EPA

Moments after losing a grand slam decider to Novak Djokovic for the third time in succession, Roger Federer was sat on his bench, staring into space and reflecting on what could have been.

For the first time since 2009, the Swiss had made it to the final at two grand slams and on both occasions — at Wimbledon and now the US Open — he was stopped by the Djokovic juggernaut in four sets.

Federer had his chances in both the matches, more so in New York with a raucous crowd cheering him on and jeering his opponent. They applauded Djokovic’s service faults and whistled as he tossed the ball to serve, so you can only imagine the roars that must have followed each of Federer’s 56 winners.

Boasting a new, grandiosely named tactic “SABR” (Sneak Attack by Roger), Federer was merciless in attack, advancing to the net on 59 occasions and winning the point 39 times. He also managed to win a startling 16 of the 21 serve-and-volley points.

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Given Federer’s belligerent mood and the disposition of his fans, Djokovic had to be patient as well as conservative. He had only three aces to Federer’s 11 and only 35 winners. But the Serb also had far fewer unforced errors — 37 to Federer’s 54.

Those statistics, however, had little bearing on the outcome. In the end, Djokovic had only two more points (147-145) than Federer in the 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Sunday.

The deciding statistic was the break points that Federer wasted, or Djokovic saved. The Swiss had 23 of them in that compelling, three-hour, 20-minute battle, but could convert only four, once in each set, for a disappointing winning percentage of 17.

Djokovic, on the other hand, made use of six of the 13 break points that came his way — a winning percentage of 46. Federer had dropped his serve only twice in the first six matches of his 16th US Open campaign, and only four times this summer, but the world No 1 broke him twice in the opening set.

Federer, 34, fought back to win the second set and level the scores, but Djokovic, six years his junior, is 182-7 when winning the first set at grand slams. In their head-to-head, which now stands deadlocked at 21-21 after Sunday’s final, he is 14-1 when winning the opening set. Federer’s lone win came in Dubai last year.

So, Federer must have been reflecting on those wasted break points as he sat on the bench, while Djokovic leapt into the players box to celebrate with his family, friends and team.

It was his third major title of the year and 10th overall, and, it seems, only the traffic lights can now stop the Djokovic juggernaut in the coming years.

Where does that leave Federer and his quest for an 18th grand slam victory? He is now 5-8 in major finals since 2008 (0-3 since Wimbledon, 2012) after winning 12 of his first 14. But it would be foolhardy to dismiss his chances, looking at the way he keeps improving.

It would be much easier, though, if someone else did the job of taking Djokovic out in the earlier rounds. Someone like a Robin Soderling, who knocked out Rafael Nadal at the 2009 French Open.

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