Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, falls to the court while trying to return a shot to Roger Federer, of Switzerland, during the men’s championship match of the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Sunday, September 13, 2015, in New York. Djokovic picked himself up to beat Federer in four sets. AP
Novak Djokovic has defeated Roger Federer in four sets in the U.S. Open final for his 10th Grand Slam title.
The top-ranked Serb beat Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday night to win three major championships in a year for the second time in his career. He also topped Federer in the Wimbledon final in similar fashion — dropping the second set and taking the next two.
Djokovic had been just 1-4 in U.S. Open title matches.
The second-seeded Federer is still stuck on 17 Grand Slam championships, with none since 2012 Wimbledon. After a rocky start, the Swiss great raised his level and kept constant pressure on his rival. But Djokovic was just a bit better at the biggest moments, saving 19 of 23 break points — including three in the final game — while converting 6 of 13 of his own opportunities.
The start of the match was delayed more than three hours by rain, and when it began the crowd was firmly behind the 34-year-old Federer. But the roars for his opponent didn’t rattle Djokovic much, and he also recovered quickly from a scary fall early in the first set that left him with bloody scrapes on his right forearm, hand and knee.