US Open Tennis 2011 Results: Novak Djokovic vs. Alexandr Dolgopolov Analysis

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic simply hasn't been challenged all that often this year. A point that is  evidenced by the fact he has just two losses all season.

Because of that, it was hard to imagine Djokovic actually being in danger of being beaten by Alexandr Dolgopolov in their fourth-round match at the US Open. Certainly the tournament's No. 22 seed would crumble against the best player in the world, right?

Um, not quite. Allow me to tell you all about it.

Result

Maybe it was the windy conditions. Maybe it was the fact he was playing in Louis Armstrong Stadium and not Arthur Ashe Stadium. Maybe it was the fact he'd never played Dolgopolov before.

Whatever the reason, Djokovic just plain struggled to get into a rhythm in the first set against Dolgopolov. The set went back and forth and back and forth until the score was 6-6 with the two players were headed for a tiebreaker.

That's when things really got interesting. Dolgopolov put Djokovic in an early hole and had chances to put him away first at 6-5 and then at 7-6. However, Djokovic would not be denied. He rescued himself from the brink, continuing to push Dolgopolov further and further.

Eventually, Djokovic would take a 15-14 lead in the tiebreaker, finally takingthe first set for good when Dolgopolov sent a forehand shot just beyond the baseline. It only took a grand total of 76 minutes.

After that, Dolgopolov was pretty much spent. He picked up a game here and there, but was ultimately powerless to stop Djokovic from taking the next two sets 6-4, 6-2. The two of them combined took just 70 minutes.

So despite all the fuss, Djokovic walked away with a victory in straight sets, 7-6 (14), 6-4, 6-2.

Storyline

Although Djokovic ended up winning, the question on many minds was what could have possibly allowed Dolgopolov to match wits with him in a first set that last well over an hour.

That was a question that Djokovic himself seemed to have a hard time answering. Per the US Open's official site, here's the answer he gave:

"I was confused on the court in the first set with the wind and the low balls he was hitting... I raised my level in the next two sets. He's an unpredictable player. He feeds on the energy of the crowd. The bigger the match is, he feels better -- gets motivated."

In so many words, Djokovic was not quite in the moment and Dolgopolov was.

Either way, you have to give Djokovic all the credit in the world for hanging in there and refusing to drop the set.

Once Djokovic had the first set in his hand, the match was pretty much over. He looked every bit like the No. 1 player in the world and by then it also looked like he had Dolgopolov pretty well figured out.

Next Up for Novak Djokovic

It's on to the quarterfinals for the Djokovic. There he will face fellow Serb Janko Tipsarevic, the No. 20 seed. He was last seen defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero.

It's all too fitting that Djokovic and Tipsarevic would be meeting face to face at this stage in the game. According to ESPN, this is the first time two Serbian men have reached the quarterfinals in a major tournament. Of course those two men would also be playing each other.

You can't make this stuff up.