US Open Tennis 2018: Men's Final Winner, Score and Twitter Reaction

Novak Djokovic is all the way back. After winning Wimbledon in July, the 31-year-old Serbian won his second Grand Slam of the year by defeating Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets to capture the 2018 U.S. Open title Sunday. Djokovic won by a final score of 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3. 

U.S. Open Tennis showed the winning moment:

It's the third U.S. Open title for Djokovic and 14th Grand Slam overall, tying him with Pete Sampras for third all-time among men's singles players. 

The Portugal Record's Jose Morgado noted Djokovic will be in familiar company both in the all-time rankings and current standings Monday:

It was a steely-eyed finish to the tournament for Djokovic, who last dropped a set to Tennys Sandgren in the round of 64.

The final stats show there wasn't a terribly big gap between the two. Both players notched 31 winners, and Del Petro had a 6-1 advantage in aces, per USOpen.org. Mistakes tell part of the story, as Del Potro had 47 unforced errors to Djokovic's 38. In the end, Djokovic's defensive brilliance and command of his shots won out.

It's a heartbreaking conclusion to the tournament for Del Potro. After winning the U.S. Open in 2009, he looked like a contender to break the stranglehold that the likes of Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer had over the sport. Injuries derailed his career, and this year's U.S. Open looked like it would be one of the 29-year-old's best chances to capture another Grand Slam. Former tennis player Melanie Oudin could feel Del Potro's pain:

The first set was a typical, metronomic back-and-forth affair for the first seven games. Del Potro was smooth in his delivery and had an easy time holding serve, while Djokovic controlled the baseline well. In the eighth game, Del Potro was up 40-0, but he sent a couple of forehands long and then Djokovic smashed a beautiful forehand to get the game to a deuce.

Here's the highlight, per Fox Sports Live:

Djokovic finished the job, breaking Del Potro's serve and going on to win the set handily.

The Serbian carried his momentum into the second set, breaking Del Potro's serve in the third game after a comfortable hold of his own. The Metro's George Bellshaw marveled at Djokovic's ability to control a match:

Del Potro would harness his considerable talents, breaking Djokovic's serve before forcing the No. 6 seed into a lengthy, grueling war of attrition just to hold serve and level it at 4-4. Djokovic persevered, but the crowd was heavily in his opponent's favor, cheering Del Potro's every success. Some of the Argentine's forehand winners were absolutely brilliant, as this reaction from Meryl Streep can attest, per ESPN:

Fans left their seats at their own peril, per the New York Times' Ben Rothenberg:

Djokovic, visibly agitated at times by partisan fans at Arthur Ashe Stadium, displayed incredible mental fortitude to win the tiebreak and finish off the punishing, 95-minute second set. 

It looked like Djokovic might have an easy inside track to the title after breaking Del Potro early in the third set, but the No. 3 seed returned fire and broke back in the fifth game of the set. In the end, Del Potro couldn't keep from making some killer mistakes. A couple of errors and a double-fault allowed Djokovic to break serve for the second time in the set. Djokovic then calmly served out to win the tournament.

Djokovic will be a favorite at the next major, the 2019 Australian Open. He has won it six times in his incredible career, and a seventh is well within his reach. After struggling in 2017 and early 2018, Djokovic looks to be fully fit, confident and still capable of technical brilliance. For tennis fans looking for some novelty at the top of men's tennis, the changing of the guard could still be far off.