Novak Djokovic Wins 14th Grand Slam Title

Novak Đjokovic displayed an immaculate performance to defeat Juan Martín del Potro in the US Open final and win his 14th Grand Slam title.



The 31-year-old Serbian won 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to win his third victory in US Open and was equal to the main trophy of the great American tennis player Pete Sampras.

After back-to-back Grand slam victories, Djokovic will climb to third spot on world rankings.

Only Roger Federer (20) and Rafael Nadal (17) have more titles.

Argentine Martin Del Potro, 29, played his first Grand Slam final since his triumph in 2009 US Open and almost call it quit in 2015 due to multiple injuries to his wrist.

However, a fairy tale ending at Flushing Meadows did not just happen because the quality of the former world number one Djokovic shone through.

In the first match point, the Serbian made a strong hit forehand volley to safety, went down to the ground and lay on his back, with his arms and legs stretched out.

After kissing his great friend on the net, Djokovic jumped into the box to celebrate with his wife Jelena and his team. Del Potro crashed with uncontrollable tears in his chair.

Djokovic went without grand slam between winning the 2016 French Open, where he completed his Grand Slam career and his fourth win at Wimbledon this summer.

He was physically struggling with an elbow injury and was apparently suffering from mental disorders after what he called "personal problems", he went eight strokes without reaching the semi finals until Wimbledon.

His performances at the All England club showed that he was close to his best time and showed the same decision, endurance and steel in Flushing Meadows.

Djokovic, who struggled in the first two rounds from wet weather in New York, did not lose a set from the third round till final.

The Serb did not face a big server like Del Potro in his quest to the final and showed all his remarkable recovery abilities to hinder his opponent.

Before the final, Del Potro saw 41% of his serves without returning in the tournament.

This number fell to 17% in the first set and Djokovic took a long time.

Djokovic did not threaten Del Potro's serve until the eighth game, clinically taking his only break point when Potro buckled first.

Del Potro said many of his shots would win him games against players but obviously Nole wasn’t one of them.

“I felt the only way to defeat this kind of player is to capitalize on my strong skill but my mistakes were because of his level of supremacy.”

“Novak is too fast, has a superb defense, it is a huge task to defeat a classy player like Nole."

“I've always played at my limit, looking for the winners, "he said, but I could not do it because Novak was almost always there.”

Del Potro has strong support at the US Open and has received significant support as thousands of Argentine fans came to Arthur Ashe Stadium, with their national colors, light blue and white.

It created a partisan atmosphere in the largest tennis stadium in the world and, with the roof closed due to rain, caused a heavy noisy. It made it looked like a football game, and not a tennis match.

"You can win or lose a trophy, but the love of the crowd is even bigger than the tournament and that's what I have, I will hold on to this for life" Del Potro said

Djokovic appeared to be furious with the support of noise from time to time that British judge Alison Hughes had to constantly ask the audience to stay silent during the points.

The atmosphere went haywire again in the second set when Del Potro returned to level 3-3, before Djokovic silenced the Argentines crowd with a superb performance after a 20-minute game that lasted 22 points, and made three break points to level 4-4.

This proved to be a key moment of the game.

This allowed Djokovic to continue and win second-tie break after four unforced errors in Del Potro’s forehand.

From that moment, Djokovic's victory seemed inevitable, and after Del Potro's looked trailing by 3-1 in the next set, the Argentine made a double mistake by giving Djokovic another chance by 5-3.

Trying to force the outcome, he hit hard and Djokovic broke it before serving for victory.

Despite defeat, the world number three, Del Potro, remained proud of an attempt he never considered possible during his childhood.

"I never gave up when I had joint problems," he said.

"I came to the final after nine years, which is incredible because it is my favourite tournament on tennis tour."

Nole’s 14 Grand Slam Titles

Australian Open

2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016

US Open

2011, 2015, 2018

Wimbledon

2011, 2014, 2015, 2018

French Open

2016