The controversial US Open change that cruelled Del Potro in final
Juan Martin del Potro was partly undone in the US Open final by a controversial move from officials.
A clinical Novak Djokovic defeated del Potro to collect his second grand slam title in succession and 14th of his career.
The Serb outlasted the Argentine 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 in three hours and 15 minutes to join his “idol” Pete Sampras in third on the all-time list of major winners – behind only Roger Federer (20) and Rafael Nadal (17).
Del Potro broke down in tears after another near-miss, and fans weren’t particularly impressed by a controversial change to the US Open courts that cruelled his chances.
Last week US Open tournament director David Brewer admitted the courts at Flushing Meadows were purposely slowed down “a touch” this year.
“In the general feedback we’ve gotten from players the last couple of years, a range of players, both male and female, the commonality we seemed to have been getting was: The courts were sort of gradually creeping up in speed,” Brewer said.
“We just felt we needed to address that a little bit this year.
“At the same time, we wanted to ensure we had really good consistency across all courts.”
However the lower court speed this year has generally been frowned upon by players and commentators.
Roger Federer said it felt like the courts were slower than they’d ever been, while ESPN courtside commentator Darren Cahill said Monday morning’s final was played in “the slowest conditions I’ve seen for the entire two weeks”.
The slow court at Arthur Ashe Stadium meant del Potro didn’t get any value for his massive groundstroke game, with Djokovic (renown for his defensive game) able to get more balls back.
Del Potro wasn’t able to blast the ball through the court like he normally would, and many weren’t impressed.
Djokovic playing great but the court is so slow. Massive advantage to Novak with Delpo struggling to hit through it. #USOpen
— Jason Le Miere (@JasonLeMiere) September 9, 2018
This is seriously good from Djokovic. Breaks for a 2-1 lead at the start of the second. Del Potro can't hit through him and just looks a little lost at the moment. Needs to find his big weapons and quick if he's to turn this around. Novak looks incredibly comfortable.
— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) September 9, 2018
This match would be a lot more interesting on a faster court. Djoker's returns and Del Potro's forehand. Quality is good but all a bit cagey / tactical.
— Jonathan (@peRFectTennisUK) September 9, 2018
Dickson 🙄
"Del Potro was going to need to hit plenty of winners through this sluggishly-paced court that has been very much to Djokovic's liking. It is one of the things that has played into his hands during this summer comeback, another being when the roof against Nadal at W."— C Kristjánsdóttir ●🐊 (@CristinaNcl) September 10, 2018
Del Potro’s formidable power game neutralized by the combination of a slow hard court and the world’s greatest returner across the net. Bummer #Djokovic #USOpen
— mugtweetMD (@tmuguwe) September 9, 2018
Del Potro is hitting the ball as hard as he can and the court is like “Lol no let’s take it down a notch.” #USOpen #Djokovic
— Tennis Nerd Podcast (@TennisNerdPod) September 9, 2018
Del Potro is playing very well. But it is virtually impossible to defeat peak Djokovic in these kind of conditions. Even Nadal couldn't do it on hard court with the exception of USO 2013. This court with the roof on might even be slower than Miami or Indian wells
— Vedant (@eh10kingdom) September 9, 2018
Del Potro, who was back in a grand slam final for the first time since his one and only title in New York in 2009, couldn’t hold back his tears after the match.
“I’m so happy to be playing the final against this magnificent idol. Of course I’m sad because I lose but I’m happy for Novak, you deserved to win,” del Potro said.
“I got it after nine years, which is amazing to me because the US Open is my favourite tournament and I’m proud of that.”
Djokovic was far superior to del Potro in the opening set but he dropped three consecutive games in the second to trail 4-3.
The sixth seed survived three break points in the following game, an epic that lasted more than 20 minutes, in a pivotal moment.
A series of missed forehands by del Potro in the tiebreaker put Djokovic back on course and he finished with a flourish, taking the last three games – sealing the title on his first match point.
with AAP