Welcome everyone to our live blog of the US Open men’s final.
World number one Roger Federer is in his tenth straight slam final and could win his fourth straight US Open. The numbers just keep piling up and except for a funny string of breaks in the third set of his semifinal match against Nikolay Davydenko, he has looked invincible. Andy Roddick threw everything he had at Federer and still lost in straight sets.
Number three ranked Novak Djokovic is the first Serb to reach a slam final and he’s well on his way to making the Federer-Rafael Nadal twosome a threesome. He got to the semifinals at the French Open and Wimbledon and now he’s in the final. He had to battle through a few slow starts and a marathon or two to get here and he had some breathing problem in his semifinal so it might be a bit much to expect him to win his first slam today. On the other hand, but he was the guy who beat Federer to win the Montreal Masters last month so he’s the best opponent we could have.
Settle in and enjoy.
Nina:
Uh oh, overtime of the Miami/Washington NFL game on CBS. Not only that but with no time on the clock, Washington threw up a Hail Mary that Jason Taylor batted down in the end zone only to see it go into the hands of Washington player Antoine Randle El. Unfortunately for us, that means overtime because Randle El couldn’t find the end zone. So close!!!
Meanwhile, while we wait for football to end and tennis start, did you ever hear of the Heidi game? In 1967, the Jets and the Raiders played a football game and with 65 seconds left in the game, the Raiders scored a quick 14 points to come from behind and win the game. No one saw it though because NBC switched from the game to a presentation of Heidi and they’ve never lived it down so we’re unlikely to get our tennis until the damn game is over!
Pat:
It seems we are waiting on Denver, they just kicked a field goal to win as the clock ran out!! Oy! Guess our boys won’t be waiting much longer in the tunnel to go on court.
You must be getting a different game from CBS ’cause you are in L.A. and I am up in the bay area.
God, I am feeling as nervous as a little porker at a Memphis barbecue! I wonder what the nerves will be out there, I’m feeling as nervous as Djoko is probably. I feel for him. His first Grand Slam final! I don’t want him to stomp my man Roger, but I hope the nerves are at least okay for him. Speaking of porkers, is everyone having a tailgate party out there? Or do tennis folks indulge in such?? Oh,oh, look out, we’re singing God Bless America…
Nina:
Uh oh, Liza Minelli. Does that portend drama on the court? I hope so. I don’t want a straight set yawner like the women’s final.
Pat:
Everyone’s wearing black at this event, how times change. When my boyfriend moved to L.A. in 1990 he was the only guy, beside a few Asians, who ran around in all black. He got lots of S**t for that. Today it’s de riguer for everybody it seems
Federer 1-0
Nina:
Djokovic will be one of the more charismatic number ones if he gets there. He’s perfect for the youtube era with his player imitations. He even has Sharapova in his box!
Federer, 2-1
Pat:
Well Novak looks ok as far as the nerves go, both guys are settling in nicely.
Federer 3-3
Nina:
Federer looks like he’s trying to slam Djokovic off the court. Not the strategy I would take because Djokovic is all power. How would I play Djokovic? A bit of rope-a-dope and good serving. Djokovic is a good mover but not as goos as Federer. What strategy would you use Pat?
Federer 4-3
Pat:
I would want to feel him out a bit more, maybe some of both, that is the power with the finessing. Roger needs to keep those first serves coming. Djoko is serving well, Roger has to find a way to crack his serve.
Federer 5-4
Nina:
Nate just joined us: “djokovic has to be hitting himself for not taking advantage of that opening loose service game…” Yep, and now he coughed up an overhead and went for a big shot out of position. He’s probably a bit nervous. Nate and Mary Carillo disagree with me. They think Fed should take it to Djokovic to keep him from hanging around.
Djokovic breaks Fed, Djokovic 6-5
Pat:
Oh oh, Roger looks a bit tight on that serve and those missed forehands. I like the idea of keeping Djoko running side to side, wear him out. Let’s see if Roger can break back.
Federer breaks Djokovic, Federer 6-6, first set tiebreak
Nina:
Ooooh, Fed is lucky that Djoko finally realized the enormity of what he’s doing. One question though, if Fed wants to hit Djoko off the court, doesn’t he have to get to the net? I don’t think he can hit him off the court from the baseline.
Federer, 7-6
Pat:
Oy vey baby! Can you believe that? Let’s all share in the tightness, shall we??? They’d both get tight, then come back, then get tight again. These guys are going to put me in my grave today, I tell ya! Great stuff. Almost too nervewracking to watch. Is everybody ok out there? LOL
Federer 7-6, 0-1
Nina:
Nate called it a choke and that’s probably not too harsh. But Djoko should take heart that Fed still hasn’t found his game. He’s still hitting tons of errors and he’s giving Djoko time to get his head together. Not a good thing.
Federer 7-6, 1-2
Pat:
I’m surprised Roger did not go after that second serve of Novak’s a little more, I would have thought he would be out there early taking it to him. To his credit Novak has not dropped off the radar. His mom though looks like she’s nibbled past her nails and up to her knuckles about now.
Djokovic breaks Federer and holds serve, Djokovic 6-7, 4-1
Nina:
See why I say he can’t hit with Djoko from the baseline? When Djoko’s forehand is on, it’s just too powerful.
Djokovic, 6-7, 4-2
Pat:
He has to use it judiciously. He can hit with him on the forehand side, I am more worried about Fed’s backhand. I wonder where the higher gear is today
Federer breaks Djokovic, Federer 7-6, 3-4
Nina:
Nate and I think Fed is out of rhythm and he was out of rhythm because he was letting Djoko take it to him from the baseline. However, we may be seeing why Fed doesn’t need a coach let alone our help. He just kept plugging along with his strategy and now it’s paying off.
Federer 7-6, 5-6
Nina:
We’ve hit a lull here but Nate thinks it could be over if Djoko doesn’t do something exceptional soon and I agree with him. That’s the power of Federer. Once he does get into a groove, it’s becomes a metronomic march towards the end result.
7-6, 7-6 Federer
Pat:
Guess Roger was hiding those laser first serves, huh Nate? Scary when he does get it going, it’s just he seemed so la de da there and then suddenly, there he is! Djoko should throw his hands up. But he had his chances. Maybe Federer got a bit of luck too. Now Djoko probably will go away mentally. And yet I still feel Federer hasn’t put all his cards out there yet.
Federer 7-6, 7-6, 3-2
Nina:
Djokovic just let a ball land on the baseline that was good. A rookie mistake indeed and that’s how I thought this would go. Djokovic would play well, which he has, but it’s his first slam final. I’m expecting him to win at least a few slams and possibly overtake Nadal but today, the poor guy is missing just a bit of experience.
Nate: “top-spin’s a pain in the ass, huh djokovich?” I assume you are referring to Fed’s serve.
Federer 7-6, 7-6, 3-2
Pat:
Uh oh, Mirka just checked her watch. Not a good sign at all for Djoko. Must be waiting on dinner at Le Cirque. Novak just held, to his credit. But no cigar today, baby
Federer 7-6, 7-6, 4-3
Nate: “commentators have made jokes about it before, but i’m beginning to think fed really does make dinner reservations counting on a straight sets win. so many times you see mirka checking her watch when fed gets a break or a break point in the third set…” Okay, we all agree, it’s over.
Federer breaks Djokovic to win the US Open title,7-6, 7-6, 6-4
Nate: “4-5, 0-15: gorgeous point. djoko’s drop shot was a good one, but not good enough…” Yep, a beautiful backhand overhead hit with grace and prudence, hit just hard enough to get the angle and the point. Quintessential Roger Federer and now he has slam number 12.
Pat:
Alright, I guess dinner won’t wait! Djoko’s dropshot was great but he seemed a little surprised, and a tad late, in tracking it down crosscourt. As if he didn’t realize Federer could get to it. And then that backhand overhead, nifty stuff.
Nice show for the kid, and he’s made me a believer, he will be back next year and I’d wager the result might be different. He’s gonna make a huge leap up in his learning curve from this match.