Federer tops Djokovic, moves 1 win from title
Star seeking sixth consecutive U.S. Open championship
 TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP/Getty Images Roger Federer celebrates after beating Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open semifinals on Sunday. |
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NEW YORK - And for his next act ...
Roger Federer punctuated his latest U.S. Open victory Sunday with a shot he called, quite simply, the greatest of his life: a between-the-legs, back-to-the-net, cross-court winner from the baseline.
A point later, with the crowd in hysterics and opponent Novak Djokovic still in shock, the world’s top-ranked player closed out the victory, 7-6 (3), 7-5, 7-5, to move one win from his sixth straight U.S. Open title.
OK, who’s got next?
Juan Martin del Potro is the lucky guy whose first career Grand Slam final will come against Federer, who made his 17th in the last 18.
Fourth-seeded Djokovic fought for more than 2½ hours on a day that grew increasingly windy at Arthur Ashe Stadium, hanging with Federer and even grabbing two break points late in the third set to briefly see a glimmer of hope.
Some things, though, there are no answers for, and the winner Federer hit to set up match point was Exhibit A. It’s the kind of shot every tennis player has tried — oh, a thousand times or so. The best player in the world practices it, too.
“A lot, actually,” he said. “But they never work. That’s why, I guess, it was the greatest shot I ever hit in my life.”
Ahead 6-5 and 30-0 in the third set, Federer sprinted to the net to return a Djokovic drop shot, then Djokovic finessed a lob over Federer’s head that bounced barely inside the baseline.
Federer had nothing to lose, of course, so he ran back and hit the circus shot, a ball that lots of players, especially at the highest levels, can get back.
But few can do what Federer did with his — i.e., hit a blazing winner that barely clears the net. Federer jumped and shouted. Djokovic could only stand there and smile. He reached in his pocket to find the ball he’d serve to bring the match to a merciful end — for him, at least.
“You just say, ‘Well done,”’ Djokovic said. “What can you do?”
This was exactly the kind of memory the U.S. Open needed after a weekend filled with rain delays and controversy.
It was, oddly enough, also two points before match point Saturday night when Serena Williams got called for a foot fault on her second serve, then unleashed a profanity-laced tirade at the line judge that cost her a point penalty, which ended the match.
On Sunday, while the Federer match was going on, the U.S. Open hit Williams with a $10,000 fine for that ugly scene.
Federer’s shot — that was one-in-a-million.
“I don’t want to mention the word luck, but I didn’t have it today,” Djokovic said. “That’s why I’m a little bit disappointed.”
Not that there wasn’t plenty for him to get demoralized about before “The Shot.”
Had that not occurred, the point that would have defined the match — and what it’s like to play Federer — came at 5-all in the second set. Djokovic was a sitting duck at the net yet somehow managed to get five straight reflex volleys back to Federer, who was standing at the service line, teeing off.
Djoko’s final volley was a floater and he did what any smart guy would do: He stuck his racket between his legs, turned around and stuck out his rear — the tennis player’s version of begging for mercy.
Everyone got a good laugh out of that one, but the mark Federer is leaving on this sport is very serious stuff:
—He’s looking for his 41st straight win at Flushing Meadows.
—He’s in his 21st Grand Slam final, a record.
—He’s reached 22 consecutive Grand Slam semifinals, more than twice as many as any other man.
—He’s trying to extend his own record with a 16th Grand Slam title, but first since his twins were born in July.
“Right now, I’m pretty relaxed,” Federer said. “We’ll see how it goes when the sun comes up. I’d like to keep this going. It’d be great to get my first Grand Slam as a dad.”
Federer will face del Potro, who ran over a lost Rafael Nadal with huge serves and crushing forehands, winning 6-2, 6-2, 6-2.
“I think this is the best moment of my life,” del Potro said.
Nadal was dealing with a strained abdominal muscle, and after the match he finally admitted the obvious — that it was bothering him.
The six-time Grand Slam tournament champion also gave plenty of credit to del Potro, who deserved every bit of it after sapping all the life, and hope, out of a player whose relentlessness is one of his biggest attributes.
“I’m going to repeat: He played much better than me, and for that reason he beat me,” Nadal said.
The sixth-seeded Argentine — the first from that country to make a U.S. Open final since Guillermo Vilas in 1977 — kept No. 3 Nadal pinned behind the baseline with a deep, flat forehand and a first serve he mixed at between speeds from the 90s to the 130s.
In the first set, Nadal put on his usual show, battling for every point, never giving in, even though it was clear he was being overpowered and playing at less than 100 percent. The first four games crept along, at 27 minutes.
But he couldn’t convert any of the five break points he had against del Potro’s huge serve over the first 12 games, couldn’t do much to neutralize an opponent who hit 33 winners, often running around the ball to pound forehands down the line. And there was no waiting out this storm, no hoping del Potro might weaken, the way he did earlier this year at the French, when he was in his first Grand Slam semifinal, leading Roger Federer 2 sets to 1.
Federer came back in that one and might await again. In the final, pushed to Monday because of rain over the weekend, del Potro will play either the five-time defending champion or Novak Djokovic. Del Potro’s record against the two: a combined 0-9.
But, he says, he’s been seeing the ball great this week.
“Maybe my green eyes. I don’t know,” he said. “It’s very tough playing against Rafa or Roger. But today I play unbelievable, and that was the key.”
The result prevented the eighth Federer-Nadal final in a Grand Slam and first at the U.S. Open, and left Rafa still in need of a win at Flushing Meadows for the career Grand Slam.
“I’m sorry,” del Potro told the crowd in his on-court interview. “But tomorrow, I’ll fight until the final point for you, for everyone, to show good tennis.”
Del Potro’s first major final extends a stretch of improving tennis that began last year when he became the first player to win his first four titles in four straight tournaments. He saw his ranking jump from 65 to 13 and likely up to No. 5 after this tournament.
He had two days off since his quarterfinal win over Marin Cilic and could be seen often, walking the halls at Arthur Ashe Stadium, waiting out two days of rain delays that pushed the men’s final back for the second straight year.
Nadal, meanwhile, had to finish his postponed quarterfinal Saturday afternoon, and though that was a stress-free dispatching of Fernando Gonzalez that took 34 minutes to complete, there was no doubting who was in better physical condition for this match.
Eliminated from the tournament, Nadal finally documented the problems he’s had with his abdominal muscles, dating to a tournament in Montreal in August. The pain took a toll in many ways, most notably on Sunday when Nadal was serving from the deuce court, against the wind.
“I only can serve in the middle, because if I serve it outside, the abdominal kill me, no?” he said.
Nadal, who missed Wimbledon while resting his hurting knees, said he did not consider this latest injury to be major. Still, he will take some time off, including skipping Spain’s Davis Cup match this month.
Del Potro, meanwhile, has a date Monday to try to bring the title back to Argentina for the first time since Vilas did it in 1977.
The best win of his career?
“I think so,” del Potro said. “It was so focused every moment because Rafa’s a great player. He can run for 5, 6 hours. I’m not very strong but I do my best, and I’m in the final.”
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