US Open to review policies after row
NEWYORK: The rankings do not yet reflect it, but there can be no doubt which man is playing the finest tennis in the world. On his last visit to American hard courts, in March, Novak Djokovic looked like a man in a dinghy without a motor or a sail, losing his opening-round matches in Indian Wells, California and Miami. But that confounding trip, part of a malaise that lasted nearly two years, is now in the past.
After returning to the fore by winning Wimbledon in July, he returned to dominance by winning the U.S. Open for the third time on Sunday night. His 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory over Juan Martín del Potro under a closed roof at Arthur Ashe Stadium was a brilliant display of Djokovic’s suffocating skill set.
It was all there: the precision serving, the fast-twitch returns, the baseline consistency under greatest pressure, and, above all, the full-stretch defense that can buckle the knees and spirit of even a player as resilient as del Potro. “He was back at his best,” said his coach, Marian Vajda, who helped Djokovic back to that level after he rejoined his team in April, helped to retool his serve and restored his confidence. Djokovic has routinely gone deep at the Open, but was often stopped short of the title. But he is 3-5 in Open finals and is tied with the former US star Pete Sampras for third on the career list with 14 Grand Slam singles title.
Roger Federer has 20. Rafael Nadal has 17. One more Grand Slam victory, which hardly seems out of the question at next year’s Australian Open in light of Djokovic’s affinity for hard courts in Melbourne, and the top three players from this golden era of men’s tennis will hold the top three spots on that career list.
“I mean, the 14 is a number,” Vajda said. “Years ago, I would say Rafa and Roger went too far from him, too ahead of him with the Grand Slams, and now I have the feeling, he catches up with them.”
For now, Djokovic has at least caught Sampras, the big-serving Californian with the fabulous running forehand. Sampras has more in common stylistically with Federer than with Djokovic and his two-handed backhand and his NEWYORK: The United States Tennis Association (USTA) said on Sunday it would undertake a review of its communication policies after a string of umpiring controversies at the U.S. Open.
Swedish umpire Mohamed Lahyani was reprimanded by U.S. Open organisers for going “beyond protocol” when he climbed down from his chair to give Nick Kyrgios a mid-match pep talk during his second-round match against Pierre-hugues Herbert. Umpire Christian Rask then came in for criticism after he handed a code violation to French player Alize Cornet after she removed her shirt on court after realising it was on backwards.
The tournament subsequently released a statement saying it regretted that she was given a violation. On Saturday, Serena Will-
Player to be beaten by Novak in a Slam final was Del Potro. Others: Kevin Anderson, Tsonga, Murray, Federer and Nadal.
US Open and Wimbledon double completed by Djokovic in 2011, 2015 and 2018. Only Roger Federer has more — four straight double in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007.
ranking places Djokovic has moved up, from 22 to 3, in the last three months.
ability to turn defence into offense.
On Sunday, Djokovic had to deny a player who had endured a long wait to be back on this stage. The last time del Potro played the final here, Ashe Stadium did not have a roof and Barack Obama was still in the first year of his presidency.
That was in September 2009, and del Potro swept past Nadal in the semifinals and rallied to beat Federer in the final.
The tennis world was at his big feet and forehand. He was just 20. But four wrist operations stopped his rise and left him contemplating retirement in 2015. He is in the midst of a fine season and was a clear crowd favorite as the Argentine fans and others familiar with his backstory threw their support behind him from the start.
But there was no masking del Potro’s pain at losing his first Grand Slam final in nine years. He had a few chances to turn this match in his favor, but he failed to take advantage, including when he lost a service game in the first set after going ahead by 40-0. iams was handed three penalties during the second set of her championship match against Naomi Osaka, sparking a firestorm of debate.
“Some of these incidents, you know, have prompted us to reflect on the clarity of our own communication to the chair umps,” USTA spokesman Chris Widmaier said. “These incidents will prompt us to analyse ways of perhaps instituting some change. We certainly do not want inconsistencies. I think it could potentially help everybody if there was some more consistency to this.”
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) expressed disappointment over the handling of the match between Williams and Osaka. “(The WTA) is committed to working with the sport to ensure that all players are treated the same. We do not believe that this was done last night,” WTA CEO Steve Simon said. Djokovic said it was the kind of heavyweight clash he’s learned to embrace.
“This might sound funny, but my nickname is Nole. When they shout “Ole, ole, ole, ole,” that’s what I hear,” he said of the raucous chants for Del Potro. “I thought it was electrifying in some stages of the match, especially in the second set when we went toe-to-toe. I had my corner, as well.”
He (Sampras) was my idol. There is a lot of significance of me being now shoulder to shoulder with him.
Life showed me that it takes time for good things, it takes time to really build them, for things to fall into place.
NOVAK DJOKOVIC, US Open winner