Novak Djokovic's First U.S. Open Title
In four hours and ten minutes, Novak Djokovic outplayed and outlasted Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 to win the 2011 U.S. Open Men’s Singles title. It was Djokovic’s sixth straight victory over Nadal in a final in 2011… staggering! It was also Djokovic’s fourth
Grand Slam title, but first win in New York after having reached the finals twice in the past losing to Federer and Nadal. Two things have become striking about the epic matches that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have played in 2011. First is that Nadal appears to be the one who becomes physically fatigued and secondly, the bewildered and frustrated look in Nadal’s eyes at times shows that mentally he has “already lost” even before the final point has been played. These two elements are a marked change from all previous matches in Nadal’s career in which he always ran his opponents ragged and never seemed fatigued and also never seemed to lose hope or belief as he seems to have against Djokovic.
The superlatives continue to fly around regarding Djokovic’s incredible “career year” in which he’s now 64-2 with ten titles, not to mention his incredible win streak earlier this year. For comparison, John McEnroe was 82-3 in 1984, Roger Federer was 81-4 in 2005 and 92-5 in 2006 while Jimmy Connors had a run of 93-4 in 1974. For Novak, the year is not over and Djokovic still has Davis Cup matches, as well as a few more tournaments and the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London in November. Djokovic can credit his gluten-free diet, improved fitness, revamped serve, etc. for his incredible results in 2011, but in the end, it’s all about his confidence and newfound mental strength to both “weather” the storms, but also have the belief to go for his shots when it really matters.
In a nod to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Nadal and Djokovic both mentioned the victims and their families. Djokovic also wore an FDNY baseball cap onto the court and posed for photos with the trophy wearing the FDNY hat… well done!
The superlatives continue to fly around regarding Djokovic’s incredible “career year” in which he’s now 64-2 with ten titles, not to mention his incredible win streak earlier this year. For comparison, John McEnroe was 82-3 in 1984, Roger Federer was 81-4 in 2005 and 92-5 in 2006 while Jimmy Connors had a run of 93-4 in 1974. For Novak, the year is not over and Djokovic still has Davis Cup matches, as well as a few more tournaments and the year-end ATP World Tour Finals in London in November. Djokovic can credit his gluten-free diet, improved fitness, revamped serve, etc. for his incredible results in 2011, but in the end, it’s all about his confidence and newfound mental strength to both “weather” the storms, but also have the belief to go for his shots when it really matters.
In a nod to the tenth anniversary of 9/11, Nadal and Djokovic both mentioned the victims and their families. Djokovic also wore an FDNY baseball cap onto the court and posed for photos with the trophy wearing the FDNY hat… well done!
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