Bill Simons
In the 2011 US Open semis, Novak Djokovic was toast. The Serb, who’d not yet won a US Open title, was down 15-40 and facing two match points to the ascendent Roger Federer. But Novak fearlessly unleashed a laser-like cross-court forehand return of serve that miraculously grazed the line. The bold stroke allowed him to battle on to victory. Was it the greatest, most impactful return in tennis history?
Then again, tennis has had all kinds of returns. Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport all returned after retirements and/or sabbaticals. Monica Seles and Petra Kvitova returned after being victims of knife attacks. Women, from Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong to Serena, Kim Clijsters, Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniaki re-emerged after giving birth.
In 1986 Martina Navratilova, who’d defected from Czechoslovakia eleven years earlier, returned to Prague to play the Federation Cup. It’s the greatest prodigal daughter story in sports history.
But now, after 702 days, Djokovic, the man who has a return of serve like no other will return to America. Okay, there’s no such thing as a prodigal GOAT. But Nole is one heck of a prodigal son, who will be playing singles and doubles in Cincinnati this week, where he’s won twice. Then he’ll go on to New York, where he’ll try to reverse his Big Apple fate after four years of frustration.
In 2019, he retired in the fourth round of the Open. In 2020, he was booted out. In the 2021 final he was subdued by the weight of history and in 2022he was banned due to his COVID beliefs.
This year, Nole won his tenth Aussie Open and his third Roland Garros before falling to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. In 13 US Open appearances, amazingly, Djokovic has reached a record nine finals, but “only” won three times. The ATP’s new intergenerational “Big 2,” Nole and Alcaraz, will be hefty favorites to prevail in New York. With his 23 Slam wins, Novak boasts more than twice the number of majors as the entire rest of the field. No other active player has been more impactful at Flushing Meadows over the past 15 years than Nole. Here’s our list of his top ten most memorable moments at the Open:
10. Let the games begin. In 2005, Djokovic, along with fresh-faced Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, played his first US Open, where he downed Croatian Mario Ancic and Gael Monfils to reach the third round.
9. Everyone knows that Rafa is the best ever baseliner on clay. But who’s the best on hard courts? En route to winning the 2013 final, Novak seemed to be making a point when he rebuffed Rafa in a 54-stroke rally for the ages.
8. Early in his career, Djokovic adored the limelight and was a hilarious mime. He did on-court imitations of the preening and fussy Maria Sharapova, McEnroe’s unmistakable corkscrew service motion and the fidgety, uber-active Rafa who was perennially pulling at his wedgies. His spot-on comedy left fans in stitches, but the locker room bristled and Novak’s delightful riffs suddenly vanished.
7. A spiritual seeker turned political activist, Nole co-founded the Professional Tennis Players Association at the 2020 US Open. Djokovic asserted the ATP was not doing enough for players, who needed their own group to advocate for players only, and to seek more prize money for lesser ranked players.
6. For years, Nole battled an array of maladies. In 2008 the chirpy Andy Roddick quipped, “He’s either quick to call the trainer or he’s the most courageous guy of all time.” Roddick mercilessly mocked the Serb, saying he was suffering from injuries to both ankles, “the back and a hip, cramp, bird flu, anthrax, SARS, common cough and cold.” After prevailing in a tense quarterfinal, Novak told the booing crowd, “Andy was saying I had 16 injuries…so obviously I don’t like it.”
Novak said the crowd was “already against me because they think I’m faking everything…It’s not nice to say in front of this crowd that I have 16 injuries. I have not been against anybody.”
Then in the locker room Andy pushed Djokovic up against a locker, but then saw that Nole’s trainer was huge so he backed off.
5. Nole stood by his controversial COVID stance, declined to get a shot and was banned from entering America for the North America’s 2022 summer circuit.
4. Sports are filled with truly bizarre losses. Boxer Mike Tyson bit Evander Holyfield’s ear. Skater Tonya Harding’s enforcer blasted Nancy Kerrigan in the knees. In the 1986 World Series against the Mets, the Red Sox’s Bill Buckner let a simple ground ball dribble through his knees. An odd bounce gave the Pittsburgh Steelers the 1972 AFC Divisional Championship over the Oakland Raiders in the Immaculate Reception game. The Minnesota Vikings’ Jim Marshall recovered a fumble but ran the wrong way. At crunch time in the 1993 NCAA championships Michigan’s Chris Webber called a time-out when the Wolverines didn’t have any.
Reggie Miller scored 8 points in 9 seconds to steal a 1995 playoff win for his Indiana Pacers over the New York Knicks. In 1999 golfer Jean van de Velde only had to make a double bogey on the final hole of the British Open to become the first Frenchman to win the Open since 1907. But he was overly creative and, as he faltered, one broadcaster noted, “French flair has never been so misplaced.”
The WTA’s Jana Novotna fell apart in the 1993 Wimbledon final. But when it comes to mishaps by tennis superstars it’s hard to beat Novak at the 2020 Open, where he swiped a ball in frustration and it bopped a linesperson in the neck. She fell to the ground and Novak was immediately ejected. God bless him, he’ll forever remain in tennis’ Bloopers Hall of Fame.
3. Sweet victory. In 2011, after one of the greatest seasons in tennis history, Djokovic hit a forehand winner against his ace rival Rafa Nadal, fell on his back and howled in delight, having won his third major of the year. Wearing a FDNY (Fire Department of New York) baseball cap, he lifted his first US Open trophy – on his seventh try.
2. The 2021 US Open final was the most consequential men’s match in years. Djokovic hoped to do what no man – not Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Sampras, Agassi, Roger or Rafa – had done since Rod Laver won the Calendar Slam 52 years ago. With a win, Nole would also surpass his arch rivals, Roger and Rafa, with a record 21 majors and unofficially be crowned as the GOAT.
Novak had said he’d put his “body, heart, soul and mind into the match, and play as if it were the last match of my career.” His quest, he said, was all about “being in the moment – and the inner battle.”
But tennis’ most savvy problem-solver was facing the game’s greatest foe: history. Most predicted Nole would win. And in the match against Daniil Medvedev, Serbia’s gluten-free, oxygen-tank-loving meditator, certainly didn’t tank – but he came out flat. His Russian foe pounced. John McEnroe mused: “Now you see how difficult it is to win Grand Slams. Nerves get in the way – even for a champion.” Yes, the crowd transformed Ashe Stadium into the Roman Colosseum as they chanted, “Nole! Nole! Nole! Nole!” But his groundies faltered, his serve was tepid, his legs were weak. At one point he pounded his racket four times.
After his devastating 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 loss, Nole confided, “I was just below par…it wasn’t meant to be.” Yet in defeat Nole gained praise and, at last, the adoration he long had craved. Medvedev told him, “I’ve never said this before…but for me, you are the greatest player in history.”
Nole wept and was at least relieved that his journey, for now, was over. He noted that a new generation was coming and confided, “I felt something I never felt in my life here in New York. The crowd made me [feel] very special…The energy and love I got was something that I’ll remember forever.”
1. Great players step up and execute at great moments. Djokovic’s cross-court return of serve when he was down two match points in the 2011 semi not only stunned Federer but displayed Nole’s steely excellence that became the trademark of this extraordinary, prodigal GOAT.
