Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer Battle a Dream Finale for 2015 US Open

NEW YORK — This is what tennis wanted, and the sport will have it on Sunday in the U.S. Open men's final: the best against the best, No. 1 against No. 2, the great server against the great returner.

It’s the dream match—the latest version of a recurring dream.

The names: Novak Djokovic vs. Roger Federer. The games: the defense of the Djoker vs. the offense of the Fed Man.

“The best attacking player in the game at the moment,” said Christopher Clarey, who has covered tennis around the globe for the New York Times, “against the best defender in the game at the moment. That is a dream.”

It doesn’t always work out this way. There are bad days. There are upsets. And we need look no further than Friday to what happened to Serena Williams. Or we could extend to a year ago when Djokovic, the No. 1 seed, lost to Kei Nishikori in the semifinal while Marin Cilic beat Federer, the No. 2 seed, in their semi.

That left a U.S. Open final in which Cilic defeated Nishikori, and few outside the tennis cognoscenti cared. It wasn’t exactly a nightmare, other than for the ticket touts, but it was a letdown. Tennis and golf—not having team loyalty—depend on rivalry, on recognition, on stars. And in the last match of the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, it has all three.

“This is a blockbuster,” said Howard Fendrich, the tennis writer for the Associated Press.

TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images

This is the 42nd match between Djokovic, 28, in his prime, and Federer, 34, who seemingly never has been out of his prime. And if 41 previous meetings, with Federer having won 21 of those, doesn’t count as a rivalry, then the word needs to be redefined.

“It’s a dream match,” said Bill Dwyre, the Los Angeles Times columnist, “because of the way Federer has raised his game to a higher level the last few months. People are giving him a real chance.”

Deservedly so. He played well before losing to Djokovic in four sets in the Wimbledon final. Then he defeated Djokovic three weeks ago in the final of the Western and Southern Open at Cincinnati.

“This is great,” said Greg Garber of ESPN.com. “Federer hasn’t won the Open in six years. Djokovic has been in five Open finals and won only one. The top two players in the rankings. Yes, the network people [ESPN has been televising the tournament] are very excited.”

So Federer, the No. 2 seed, as he tries to win the Open for a sixth time. He has reinvented himself, and not merely with that gimmick move toward the net when receiving second serve—labeled SABR or Sneak Attack By Roger. He has adapted to a larger racket. He has improved on a serve that always was reliable.

“There’s a lot on the line always when we play each other,” said Federer. He beat Djokovic in the 2007 Open final but lost to him in the 2010 and 2011 semis.

“I think it’s a straight shootout. I think that’s the cool thing about our rivalry. It’s very athletic.”

Bill Kostroun/Associated Press

And very compelling. An event that, like the Super Bowl, Kentucky Derby and World Series, should draw the attention of the curious as much as the committed.

Who’s going to succeed? Who’s going to survive?

Djokovic has made the final in all four Grand Slam events in 2015. He defeated Andy Murray in the Australian Open, lost to Stan Wawrinka in the French Open, defeated Federer at Wimbledon and now is confronted by him once more in the U.S. Open.

If Djokovic wins, which would give him three Grand Slam titles and a runner-up, it can be argued he had a better year than Serena, who reached the final in only three of the four majors.

But Federer is very much in the way. “We all know how consistent Roger is,” said Djokovic, “and how good he is in the latter stages of Grand Slams and any other big tournament. He always makes you play your best.”

That's as it should be when the top two in any sport are going head to head.

Federer has won 28 sets in a row. Djokovic has fought back after losing a set in two matches. But he blitzed Cilic, the defending champ, in the semifinal, losing only three games total. “I take that as a confidence booster into the final,” he said.

Federer also is riding a wave of confidence. “I thought I always had a decent serve with variation,” he said, “but now it seems like I’m able to, you know, just serve maybe more consistently. I hope I can serve equally good Sunday.”

What the rest of us hope is for a match that is memorable, a dream that becomes reality. For a U.S. Open final between the men ranked first and second, that seems a very fair request.

Art Spander, an award-winning columnist, has covered more than 50 Grand Slams in his career. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.