US Open Tennis 2015 Men's Final: Djokovic vs. Federer Predictions
Massive upsets have created an unlikely final on the women's side of the draw in the 2015 U.S. Open, but the top two seeds in the men's bracket have battled their way into the tournament's climax.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic will take on No. 2 Roger Federer in Sunday's final. These two have a long and storied rivalry that is almost dead-even. In 41 career matches, Federer has won 21 times and Djokovic 20. It can't get much closer than that.
Federer talked about his rivalry with Djokovic, as shared by the U.S. Open's official Twitter account:
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He and Djokovic are two of the smoothest and fittest athletes in the sport. Oftentimes, their battles are wars of attrition. In their history, 15 of their matches have gone the maximum amount of sets.
Sunday's final will be the sixth time they have played this year, with Djokovic holding a one-win advantage. Federer did win the most recent match between the two back in August at the Western and Southern Open final in Cincinnati. He beat Djokovic in straight sets (7-6, 6-3) to give himself a good amount of momentum heading into the U.S. Open.
Federer didn't drop a set en route to the final and was only pushed to a tiebreaker in one of his matches in New York. He's looked as dominant as he ever has over the last week.
Per ESPN Stats & Info, Federer continues to rewrite the record books:
Djokovic has looked good as well, but not quite as impressive as Federer. The top seed did blow through No. 9 Marin Cilic in the semifinals, but considering he absolutely owns the 26-year-old Croatian (14-0 lifetime), Djokovic's berth in the final was almost a foregone conclusion once that matchup was finalized.
Even though Federer is playing well, Djokovic still has every reason to be confident. He has beaten Federer three of the last four times they've played, and he hasn't lost a Grand Slam match against the Swiss legend since the 2012 Wimbledon semifinals.
As easy as it is to pick Djokovic to win based on his higher seed and recent success against Federer, I'm going with the latter in this match. The 34-year-old not only looks invigorated, he still appears hungry and resourceful.
In this tournament, he has employed a bit more aggressiveness at the net when he sees an opening. It worked wonders against his countryman Stan Wawrinka in the semis. According to the U.S. Open, it led to incredibly high efficiency at the net:
With a mixture of the grace and fluidity that we've come to expect from the No. 2 seed, and some aggressive net play mixed in to keep Djokovic honest, Federer will win his sixth U.S. Open and first Grand Slam title in three years.
All stats per Wettpoint.
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