FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. — Sometimes dreams come true. Most times not.
Twenty-three thousand fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium and millions around the tennis universe had just one hope.
Give us our dream final: Ali vs. Frazier, the Lakers vs. the Celtics, the Yanks vs. the BoSox. Take us to tennis nirvana. Give us a match with just some of the buzz of Billie Jean King (the femme warrior) vs. Bobby Riggs (the chauvinist hustler.) Or deliver a classic heavyweight brawl suggestive of Borg vs. Mac, Sampras vs. Agassi or, come to think of it, Rafael Nadal vs. Roger Federer at Wimbledon ’07 or ’08, or down in Australia in ’09.
Give us the definitive American Slam final of our era: the somewhat-fading master Raj against the rising Rafa, the fierce and friendly man-child who plays like he is intent on becoming the greatest of all time, but modestly insists, no way, he is not on the road.
So read the script everybody!
Russian Michael Youzhny certainly did. He said he wanted to play the bad guy and rain on the parade. But instead, he dutifully folded to Rafa in three forgettable sets 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. Now all we needed was Novak Djokovic to do what he had dependably done at the Open for the past three years: fall to Fed.
No problem, one would think. After all, Roger has 16 Slams, five Big Apple titles and had been in the Open final for six straight years. He had not dropped a single set going into the semi. Had been calm, patient, quick, smooth and inventive. With breathtaking ease he had mastered whiplash winds that had blown others away and lost fewer games than any other player going into the semis.
In other words, Roger Federer was Roger Federer. Okay, this isn’t quite the seamless, domineering genius at his peak. Still, Roger was confident going in. He owned a 10-5 record against Djokovic, who was nearly bounced out by fellow Serb Victor Troicki in the first round, has only one major (the ’08 Aussie Open) and hasn’t reached a Slam final since his Aussie win. Djokovic, ranked No. 3, is hardly some spearcarrier. But, clearly, he has for years been the prime warm-up act for the great Fed-Nadal duopoly, which has mercilessly claimed 20 of last 22 Slams.
But, don’t put that Serbian horse before the Swiss cart. In other words, beware the Djoker. Federer was unsparing: “It was not like the guy can’t play under pressure. He’s proven his point time and time again. I knew he was going to be a really tough opponent. The guys who overlooked him don’t know anything about tennis.”
What we do know is that, after splitting the first two sets (of what would prove to be an the most scintillating men’s semi since the Nadal vs. Verdasco ’09 Aussie Open clash), the Ashe Stadium throng were pulling for the Mighty Fed to prevail. One felt their psychic will. Particularly, as Federer entered the fateful tenth game of the fifth set. Trailing 5-4, Djokovic was serving to stay in the match as Roger sought to take advantage of a blown Djokovic overhead and two backhand errors. But, as Djokovic later joked, “To be honest, I just closed my eyes and hit as hard as I could. If it goes in, it goes in. If it goes out, it goes out.”
And not once but twice, Djokovic, who had played so miserably in the Wimbledon semis, staved off defeat and rallied, his brave groundies hugging the Ashe Stadium lines. Amidst fierce tension, deafening silence and soaring roars, he survived Federer’s two match points and lived to fight another day. Never mind, that Federer’s forehand — the greatest of our era – faltered; that Federer, the greatest closer we have grown to admire, could not put down the hammer and finished with 66 errors. The man, who, according to Djokovic, “always plays best in the big moments,” actually blinked. And once Federer faltered, Djokovic sprinted to a 5-7, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory.
After his defeat, after the prospect of an eighth Slam final, Federer retreated to the belly of the beast — the windowless corridor just off the court at Ashe — where he tenderly embraced his wife, Mirka, and his dedicated dad, Robert. Oh, the agony of defeat. “I felt somewhat empathy at the end,” said Federer. “Because you have tried everything, and maybe it was luck. Maybe it was he played well…[But] you can’t turn back time…[At least] it wasn’t the final, so I’m not as disappointed if it would have been the final. That’s the only positive…It’s a tough loss, but it’s only going to fuel me with more motivation to practice hard and get back to Grand Slam finals.”
Tennis hopes so. Maybe then we’ll be able to climb to the top of the tennis mountain and see the two best players of our era play what we all want — a match for the ages.
