US Open Tennis 2015: Men's Final Start Time, Schedule, Prediction, Prize Money
Novak Djokovic can complete one of the best single-season runs in tennis history. Roger Federer can further cement his legacy as the most decorated men's player in the sport's history. Either way, tennis fans will win Sunday when Djokovic and Federer do battle in the 2015 U.S. Open final.
Djokovic enters coming off the most dominant Grand Slam semifinals win of the Open era. The world No. 1 dispatched of Marin Cilic 6-0, 6-1, 6-2, advancing to his fourth final of the 2015 season. Having already taken the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, Djokovic will have a chance to match Serena Williams for tennis supremacy with the win.
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“I’m used to all the expectations and pressure,” Djokovic said, per David Waldstein of the New York Times. “It’s part of what I do. I try to deal with those emotions on and off the court, and the experience of being out there and competing at the highest level for the biggest trophies has helped me reach that level again. Hopefully it’s going to help me to handle myself well on Sunday.”
Federer was almost as impressive in his defeat of Stan Wawrinka, besting the French Open champ 6-4, 6-3, 6-1. He did not drop a set in his first six matches and has seen only two tiebreaks. Playing his first U.S. Open final since 2009, Federer's game appears to be peaking at the perfect time.
The Swiss took home his fifth calendar-year title at the Cincinnati Masters, knocking off Djokovic in the final. Overall, Federer is 2-3 against Djokovic this season; he's the only player to beat Djokovic on the court multiple times in 2015. (Andy Murray has technically beaten Djokovic twice, but one came via a withdrawal.)
As noted by Waldstein, Federer's recent run of success has come after he started adding new wrinkles to his game. A year after adopting a wider racket that's helped his serve, Federer's become a more aggressive net charger—especially on his opponents' second serves. One such tactic has seen Federer come to the service line.
“He tried that in Cincinnati,” Djokovic said, per Waldstein. “It worked a couple of times. It’s an exciting shot for him. For the player on the opposite side of the net, not so much. So I have nothing else to say about that.”
It's a testament to Federer's ingenuity that he's been able to keep himself at this level for so long. Federer will be playing in his 27th Grand Slam final, the first coming in 2003. To put that in perspective: Federer won his first major the same year Andre Agassi won his last. In a sport historically dominated by young, up-and-comers, the two biggest storylines from Flushing Meadows have been about the journeys of two relative dinosaurs (Williams and Federer).
"It’s a cliche to think of Federer as a religious experience," wrote Louisa Thomas and Michael Terry at Grantland. "Still, when we watch him—still there, still now—we feel a kind of reverence. If How did he do that? was the cry of Federer-as-a-religious-experience, now the awe is grounded in assurance. Of course he did that."
Of course, that religious experience has not translated into Grand Slams. Federer's last championship came in 2012, his last U.S. Open in 2008. The script in big matches has become another cliche. Federer battles hard—maybe even taking a set and pushing another tiebreak early on—before the younger competitor takes him down. Djokovic did it at Wimbledon each of the last two years. Rafael Nadal outlasted Federer at the 2011 French Open final.
And, on Sunday, Djokovic will earn his third Slam title of 2015 by doing it to Federer again.
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