Nole lost the final vs Andy Murray 6-7 (10), 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, 2-6 in an epic five-set thriller after 4 hours and 54 minutes.

The match was an aggressive slugfest from the start featuring multiple fierce 30-shot plus rallies, including one at 54, key momentum shifts and some spectacular shot-making in some cold and windy conditions.

Murray seemed to be on his way to a straight sets victory after winning an 87-minute first set and then rallying from losing a two break lead in the second. But Djokovic stepped up to the championship level, playing points with confidence, improving his serve and putting pressure on Murray in the third and fourth sets. But Murray did not let himself break down, even if he said at the end he was not sure how.

Nole raised the level of his game in the third and fourth sets and with impressive performance and two breaks in each, came back from two sets down to level at 2-2.

It was maybe an extra day of rest for Murray that provided him advantage at the beginning of the decisive fifth set which was critical for the 25-year-old Serbian star. Andy broke twice to take a 3-0 lead. The 2011 champion broke back once and held for 2-3, but couldn’t do more. Murray held his serve, made another break in the seventh game, and served out the victory.

“After the third and fourth sets, it was tough mentally for me,” Murray said. “I don’t know how I managed to come through in the end.”

“I want to congratulate Andy for his first Grand Slam, he absolutely deserves it,” he said. “I really tried my best. I gave it all I had and it was another tremendous match to be a part of.”

Match statistics: aces (7-5), double faults (5-4), winners (40-31), unforced errors (65-56), total points won (155-160).

Press conference:

Q. So how do you feel about this final today?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Well, any loss is a bad loss, you know. There is no question about it. I’m disappointed to lose the match, but in the back of my mind I knew that I gave it all. I really, really tried to fight my way back through. I had a great opponent today. He deserved to win this Grand Slam more than anybody, I’m sure, because over the years he’s been a top player. He’s been so close; lost four finals. Now he has won it, so I would like to congratulate him. Definitely, you know, happy that he won it.

Q. You came around the net to congratulate him and hug him in a very sporting gesture. You’re the first person he sees in an extremely historic moment for Britain. What did he seem like to have having won it and what did you say to him?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: What I said is what I said to you, that he deserves to win and I’m glad that he has won this trophy. I mean it. I mean, it must feel great for him. It’s his first Grand Slam.

Q. What’s the key for you to get over this?
NOVAK DJOKOVIC: Have days without tennis.

You can read the rest here.

Highlights

Trophy ceremony

And you can see all the pics from this match on our Facebook

And Nole lost 800 points and now he has 10470 in the ATP Ranking. He is 1335 points away from Roger.

source: USOPEN.org
novakdjokovic.com

The defending champion is back in the final again after Sunday’s 2-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 4 seed David Ferrer.

Ferrer was leading Novak 5-2 in the first set on Saturday before play was suspended due to a severe weather warning for the New York area.

Sunday was completely different. The sun was out, the oppressive humidity was gone and it felt like a lovely fall day. Djokovic, too, had a sunny disposition

After Ferrer served out the first set in a manner of minutes, Djokovic went to work. He won the first five games of the second set but needed a taut, four-deuce game to close the deal. Djokovic’s court coverage was spectacular and his backhand, if possible, was better. An unreturnable serve down the middle leveled the match, but it already felt over. Sliding on these hard courts, like no one else, Djokovic overwhelmed Ferrer. In the final three sets, he converted six of eight break points. In the last two sets, Djokovic won 27 of 30 first-serve points.

Djokovic was playing in his 10th consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, equaling Rod Laver and Lendl for the second-longest streak behind Roger Federer’s record of 23.

Match statistics: aces (7-1), double faults (1-3), winners (34-24), unforced errors (31-39), total points won (107-86).

“I love playing here,” Djokovic said. “I love the energy. I love the crowd.”

At which point the crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium interrupted his on-court interview with lusty cheers.

“The crowd interacts with the points, the players, the matches,”. “Especially the night sessions, it’s quite a unique setting.”

“We were all praying for less wind today,” he said. “I think he handled the wind much better than I did. I came into today as a different player.”

About Ferrer: “It’s definitely huge to get through this match,”. “He’s a great competitor. He’s one of the fittest guys on tour. He never gives up.”

“I’m not so sure about this Super Saturday. I really hope that the tournament will consider changing things for next year.”

About his match vs Murray: “I don’t think there is any clear favorite,”. “He’s looking for his first Grand Slam. I’m sure he’s going to be very motivated.” “We are big rivals & we have been in top of the men’s game for a long time, we know each other really well.”

Novak will meet the Olympic gold medalist and no.3 seed Andy Murray in attempt to win the second crown at Flushing Meadows Monday at 4pm (EST).

Source: ESPN
USA Today

Novak defeated Juan Martin del Potro 6-2, 7-6 (3), 6-4 in three hours and six minutes to reach his 10th straight Slam semifinal

Juan Martin del Potro in the first set faltered in the rallies and committed too many unforced errors (11) and not enough winners (6), while Djokovic stole the show with 12 winners and six unforced errors. The Serbian took command of his return games, converting on two of five break point chances.

Novak had trouble finding his first serve in his first two service games, and del Potro took advantage by winning the first 10 points of the set. Up a break at 5-4, del Potro took it to Djokovic, unloading shot after shot in long, exciting rallies that had the crowd in an uproar. But Djokovic’s tenacious defense outlasted the del Potro barrage, giving him the break to even it up and then take the lead at 6-5. The following game featured high-quality tennis, as Del Potro weathered a 17-minute, eight-deuce service game to force a tiebreak. Del Potro took an early lead in what turned out to be a thrilling tiebreaker showcasing long rallies that covered every inch of the court. Delpo threw everything he had at the defending champion, but it wasn’t enough. Djokovic had Juan Martin on a string and the crowd on its feet as his energy rose. His 7-1 run, the last point on a down-the-line backhand winner, closed the set.

Nole made a break in the opening game of the third set and consolidated it after saving a break point. He sealed the set and match 6-4.

Djokovic hit 43 winners on the match. Del Potro struck 25.

Novak will face David Ferrer in Saturday’s semis.

Novak : “That was probably one of the better sets I’ve played in all of 2012,”. “It was a lot of fun to be a part of this great match.”"It’s always entertaining, always so much fun playing in these night sessions.”

“Even though it was a straight-set match, it was much closer than the score indicated,”. “I was lucky in the second set to get out with a two-set advantage. We played some incredible rallies and incredible points.”

Djokovic on Berdych beating Roger on QFs: “I’ve never seen him play that well.”

About his match vs Ferrer: “He’s one of the biggest competitors we have in the game,”. “He has been one of the most consistent players on the tour. He plays great on every surface. You need to earn your points against him.””.

Delpo about Nole: “I had to win that second set,”. “He played really well in the most important moments; he was too much for me. He’s playing better and better every match; he’s the favourite to win.”

Source: ESPN.com
novakdjokovic.com
USOPEN.org

Djokovic was leading 6-4, 6-1, 3-1 on Wednesday when Wawrinka ended the match. It was not immediately clear why he couldn’t continue. Djokovic earned his 11th straight U.S. Open win to surge into his 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Novak was up 2-0 in the first set Tuesday when play was suspended because of rain. He spent a total of just 93 minutes on court to reach his 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal. When play resumed Wednesday afternoon, it appeared that Wawrinka benefitted more from the long delay. He won an extended baseline rally on Djokovic’s serve to level the match on serve and trail 2-3. However, a double fault and poor forehand into the net gifted the break right back to Djokovic in the very next game. While Djokovic was visibly frustrated with his own service performance, Stan was unable to take advantage of those opportunities on his own serve. Djokovic sent a backhand long while serving for the set at 5-3 to get broken for a second time, but Wawrinka was unable to hold his own serve once again, ultimately losing the set on Djokovic’s first set point opportunity.

In the second set Nole saved both break points against him in that set and generally held serve comfortably, while continuing to return well and give Wawrinka fits. When Nole gained a double break to lead 4-0 after Wawrinka fired a backhand long, Stan mutilated his racket and received a warning for racket abuse. Although he managed to hold serve and get on the board, he pushed a forehand wide on Djokovic’s first set point to give Nole a commanding two set lead.

Wawrinka slapped a forehand into the net early in the third set to lose his serve again and trail 1-2 before receiving a medical consultation from the trainer. After Djokovic held serve in the next game, Wawrinka walked to the net and indicated that he was unable to continue the match.

Nole converted six of seven break points, won 22 of 34 points played on Wawrinka’s second serve

Djokovic will now play vs Juan Martin Del Potro after the match exhibition on Arthur Ashe Stadiuam tomorrow around 8.30pm (local time).

“It’s an unfortunate situation that happened with him, but I felt that I was hitting the ball well in the last two sets before that happened,” said Djokovic. “Hopefully I can keep that going for the next match.”

Source: ESPN.com
USOPEN.org
Tennis.com

Novak completed his second straight match without facing a break point and defeated Julien Benneteau 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in 1 hour and 17 minutes to advance to the fourth round for the sixth straight year.

Novak said: “Obviously, the serve is something I’ve wanted to improve the last 15 months or so,”. “I wanted to get more free points on the first serve. Today, it was working very well.”

Djokovic finished with 13 aces with a top service speed of 128 mph. He said he’s not so used to early wake-up calls at the season’s last major, where he has made the final the last two years and is more used to playing in prime time. To make sure he wouldn’t be late for the third-round match, he shaved the night before and had a bit of stubble jutting from his chin by the early afternoon.

“I’m not always the morning person, to be honest,” Djokovic said. “You try to go to bed early and try to wake up early and get your body moving obviously. I wanted to start very sharp from the first point, and I’ve done that.”

Novak will face Stanislas Wawrinka on Tuesday.

Highlights from USOPEN.org here

Match Point

Press Conference

Source: USOPEN.org
ESPN.com
BBC.com

Novak Djokovic defeated Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil (Nº 112) 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 in 90 minutes.

Novak didn’t face any break points and finished with more than twice as many winners, 29, as unforced errors, 14.

He has dropped a total of seven games through two matches this year in the USOPEN.

Novak said: “It was different conditions today obviously from the first match I played, the night session,” (Temperatures hovered around 95 degrees).

“I didn’t know much about my opponent — never saw him play. So that could have been, you know, a difficulty at the start in order to figure out what his game plan was”. “But I have played well, you know, from the start to the end.”

Nole improved to 56-10 all-time in New York.

“It’s not that easy, and it definitely doesn’t feel great going 15 minutes for one game in this heat,” said Djokovic of the elongated game. “Obviously you want to win every single game… I know the score line doesn’t indicate that way, but it was a difficult match. especially in the start of the second set [Dutra Silva] played good.”

In the third set, there was a funny Djokovic mental error where thought the ball was called out by the umpire, then stopped — it was actually a loud grunt from Dutra Silva, who finished the point before the two pointed at one another playfully.

“That’s what heat can do to you – it can really mix up your thoughts,”

“For me its important now to get a day of rest and also practice work on some things in my game, get ready for next challenge”

Djokovic will now face either Julien Benneteau or Dennis Novikov.

Highlights here

And at the end of the match Nole danced “Call me maybe” and he talked about this in his press conference.

Source: ESPN.com
USOPEN.org

Novak Djokovic defeated Lorenzi 6-1 6-0 6-1 in under 90 minutes. He only lost 2 games in his first match.

In the first game of the match he was broken but after that he won 12 straight games.

Novak successfully converted nine of 13 break points.

Novak said: “Obviously, I tried to analyze my game, and my game was great from the start to the end,”.
“You know, it’s also important for me to try to be as economical with the time I spend on the court as possible, but obviously not underestimating any opponent. I played really focused, tried to get to the net also. It was great all in all.”

“I believe in life everything happens for a reason, so it was kinda a destiny for me be part of this sport”

Press Conference:

ESPN Highlights here

Source: USOPEN.org ESPN.com

When asked if he was happy to see Murray’s name in the other half of the draw, ensuring the two cannot meet unless both reach the final of the year’s last grand slam, Djokovic just smiled.

“It was really hard to try to bounce back from an emotional loss at the Olympics,”

“Every player has a look at the draw, in detail. But I think there are 128 very motivated players here so you can’t take anything for granted, even in the early rounds, when you are favourite to win.”

“I am trying not to compare my performances this year with 2011,”. “But I have had a very good start to the hard court season again, winning in Canada and reaching the final in Cincinnati.”

“My body feels good and right now I am healthy and fit. I am really happy to be back here where I have great memories and I am playing well.”

“I feel this energy, and I love playing in this tournament; last five years I have had lots of success.”

About Serena Williams: “Serena is fantastic. Nobody knows where she’s gonna stop. I’m happy to play on the ATP so I don’t have to face her (laughs)”

Djokovic talked about his famous FH against Federer: “That point saved me from losing the semis & giving me the opportunity to win the title.”

Novak also said there’s no issue with Gencic comments, that she knows him really well and didn’t mean to anything bad.

You can watch the video of the press conference here

Source: Reuters
USOPEN
Tennis Connected
Carole Bouchard

Novak was with many stars like Carly Rae Jepsen, Matthew Morrison, Missy Franklin, and Mardy Fish for example during the Arthur Ashe Kids Day. And he was dancing the hit “Call me maybe”. Here you can see some few pics from the event.

You can see the show on CBS Sports this Sunday, August 26 at 12pm ET / 3pm PT.

Source: Ryan (special thanks for send us those pics of Nole with Carly,Matthew,Mardy and Missy).
USOPEN.org
UPI.com

Novak Djokovic clinched the Emirates Airline US Open Series this Friday. Novak Djokovic will win a $1,000,000 bonus at the US Open if he wins the title.

Djokovic’s victory was confirmed after Sam Querrey lost to Tomas Berdych in the Winston-Salem Open semi-finals. Querrey needed to capture the title to overtake Djokovic at the top of the bonus standings.

Novak defended his Rogers Cup trophy in Toronto and finished runner-up at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to earn 170 points. Querrey currently stands in second with 135 points, but will drop to third if John Isner beats Berdych in Saturday’s Winston-Salem final.

Djokovic is the eighth different player in nine years to win the Series.

In case you dont know, the US Open Series is the seven-week summer tennis season linking twelve ATP World Tour and WTA Tour tournaments together. The Series leads to the US Open. Players earn points according to their results in the events; more points are awarded at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 and WTA Premier 5 events. The three male and three female players with the highest point totals each earn a bonus at the US Open. The amount depends on their US Open Series placement and US Open result. If both are won then the bonus is $1 million as of 2010.

Source: ATP World Tour