Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports
NEW YORK — The dream final is on in the US Open.
No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic and No. 2 Roger Federer each won their semifinals in straight sets on Friday and will meet for the championship on Sunday afternoon. It will be the sixth meeting in a final this year between the top two players in the world.
Federer won the most recent encounter, beating Djokovic 7-6 (1), 6-3 to take the title in Cincinnati last month. It will also be a rematch of the Wimbledon final, where Djokovic won in four sets.
“He’s had a tremendous year,” Federer said of Djokovic after handling Stan Wawrinka, 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour, 31 minutes to improve to 17-3 all-time against his Swiss countryman. “There’s a lot on the line always when we play each other, particularly in the finals. He could get his third [Major] of the year. I could get my first in some time.
“He’s been really tough to beat, plus he’s tough mentally. He doesn’t give you anything. I like that challenge and I’ll be realdy for it.”
Federer, who leads the all-time rivalry with Djokovic 21-20, will appear in a US Open final for the first time since 2009. He is seeking his sixth US Open crown and 18th Major.
Djokovic is seeking his 10th Grand Slam title and second Open title.
“This could be a pick ’em match, no question,” John McEnroe said on ESPN. “You are talking about two of five or six of the greatest players who ever lived, and they have taken their opponents out of it completely mentally.”
In the first match semifinal, Djokovic cruised over defending champ Marin Cilic, 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in 1 hour, 25 minutes. The Serb improved to 14-0 against the Croat.
The 34-year-old Federer then came on the court and played brilliant attacking tennis to handle Wawrinka in a match many thought might go four or five sets. Wawrinka, after all, beat Federer in the quarterfinals of the French Open on the way to his second Grand Slam title since 2014.
But it’s a different story on hardcourts, where Federer still has never lost against “Stan the Man.”
Asked if Federer was playing at his best level ever, Wawrinka, his longtime friend and Davis Cup teammate, paused and said: “Is the best that I saw him play since few years, that’s for sure.”
Federer was never broken in the match and pressured Wawrinka from start to finish by utilizing his SABR move and constantly moving forward and rushing the net.
Federer won 80 percent of his first-serve points and has now held serve in 80 of 82 games at this tournament. Wawrinka was unable to convert on his four break points and was broken five times.
“It’s definitely very good, maybe my best [level],” Federer said. “I’m not sure but I’m serving very well and playing positive tennis and I’m going for my shot and it seems to work. So I’d love it to work just one more time this year.”
With a partial covering over Arthur Ashe Stadium because of the building of the roof, it plays more like an indoor court, where Federer thrives, as opposed to the tougher, windier conditions on, say, Louis Armstrong Stadium.
“Now you cannot even compare the center court with Armstrong,” Wawrinka said. “It’s completely two different condition. Armstrong it gets windy, even feels a little bit of wind. Now you have nothing on center court.”
In the first match, Cilic looked nothing like the player who used a huge serve and penetrating flat groundstrokes to destroy Federer and Kei Nishikori en route to his first Grand Slam title here in 2014.
“Djokovic is like a shark,” Goran Ivanisevic, who coaches Cilic, said before the final on The Tennis Podcast. “When he smells blood, it’s over. He eats you.”
Cilic, bothered by an ankle injury, was ripe for the picking, especially after coming off a tough five-set win over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters.
“First of all I need to say for those who didn’t notice and didn’t know, Marin was carrying an injury for his ankle the last couple matches so he was courageous enough to come out and finish the match today,” Djokovic said.
“It’s not easy knowing your opponent is not 100 percent but I came out with a good focus and good intensity.”
Djokovic has already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2015 and now seeks a third Grand Slam title for the second time since doing so in 2011.
He joined Federer (2006-07, 09) and Rod Laver (1969) as the only players in the Open Era to reach the final at all four slams in one year.
“Grand Slams are the most important events we have in our sport, this is where you want to perform well,” he said. “This is the biggest stadium we have in our sport so thank you guys for coming out.”
Djokovic can enter rare air by winning his 10th Grand Slam title. He is 1-4 in US Open finals, losing once each to Federer (2007) and Andy Murray (2012) and twice to Rafa Nadal (2010 and ’13).
“I haven’t been very successful in the finals of the US Open,” he said. “I won one and lost four. Still, I’ve been playing some of my best tennis on these courts ever since 2007 final versus Roger. I look forward to it. I will give it my best.”
