By Chris Oddo | Friday September 7, 2018
Novak Djokovic rolled into his 23rd Grand Slam final with a commanding victory over Kei Nishikori on Friday in New York.
Photo Source: Julian Finney/Getty
Novak Djokovic took a bite out of the Big Apple and earned a slice of U.S. Open history on Friday in New York, defeating Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to tie Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras on the all-time U.S. Open Men’s Singles finals list at eight.
It was a superb performance from start to finish, signifying the similarities between the Novak of old and the Novak of new—in New York the 31-year-old is bridging the gap between the dominance of yesterday and the dominance that may be yet to come, with breathtaking relentless tennis that left his opponent in awe on this day.
“Maybe if he wasn't Novak,” Nishikori said after the match. “I might have chance to play a little better.”
Those chances came and went quickly for Nishikori as Djokovic’s chances appeared early and often. Once again the Serb struggled converting break points but he created so many opportunities against Nishikori that it didn’t matter. By the end of the two hour and 22-minute affair, Djokovic had converted four of his 17 break points and saved the only two he faced against Nishikori.
If there were struggles for the Serb in the first week of the U.S. Open, whether due to the conditions or his needing time to hit his peak, they appear to be behind him now.
Friday we saw a Djokovic in full stride, and he appears eager to continue his momentum in Sunday’s final and beyond.
"Every time I accomplish something big, I feel like there is a new mountain peak to conquer,” Djokovic told ESPN’s Tom Rinaldi on court after his victory. “I don't see any limits. I don't see an end around the corner, so I'll keep on going."
Nishikori, who was playing his third U.S. Open semifinal, seemed to see things the same way. He says that Djokovic is just too difficult to death with.
“[He was] playing very solid everything: serve, return, groundstrokes,” he said. “He was playing aggressive. Yeah, I didn't have many energy to stay with him. He was hitting, you know, side to side. Yeah, wasn't easy to stay with him tonight.”
That has been a recurring theme for Nishikori, who has now lost to Djokovic 14 consecutive times dating back to his victory over the Serb in the 2014 U.S. Open semifinals.
“I was putting constant pressure on him, trying to move him around the court, take away the rhythm from him, not give him the same look always,” Djokovic told reporters. “The match was really, really good from my side.”
With that challenge behind him Djokovic will now set his sights on facing a good friend and old rival, Juan Martin del Potro. The Argentine reached his first Grand Slam final in nine years when Rafael Nadal retired from their semifinal down two sets to love, and the 29-year-old will hope that lightning strikes twice in New York at the scene of his greatest triumph. He defeated Roger Federer in a thrilling five-set final that season, but he’s aware that he’s no longer the youthful phenom that he once was.
After dealing with a series of wrist injuries and facing the harsh reality that he may never play elite tennis again, Del Potro has arrived at the cusp of another great victory. If he wins he’d break the record for most appearances between a first and second Grand Slam title.
He has only dropped one set in New York this fortnight, but admits that even so, doing what he is doing at 29, after all his issues, is harder than it used to be.
“Everything is harder because I'm older,” he said.
Djokovic has won the last three matches he has played against Del Potro, and owns a 14-4 lifetime record against him. But the Serb knows that his friend is one of the most dangerous athletes to face when he is inspired. He learned that first hand when he fell to Del Potro at the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016, and left the court in tears.
There are no hard feeling between the two—quite the contrary. They’ve always shared a keen mutual respect for one another.
“I personally like him very much, not just as a player but as a person," Djokovic said. "He's a dear friend, someone that I respect a lot. We all felt for his struggles with injuries that kept him away from the tour for two, three years.”
Djokovic added: “I saw today before the match against Nadal a stat that he's the player that made most wins against No. 1's of the world. That shows the quality that he has, especially in the big matches. … He's working his way up. He's playing really some powerful tennis.”