NEW YORK — This U.S. Open has been deprived of several marquee matchups that seemed enticing when the draw came out.
We never got to see the first-ever New York encounter between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals.
That other quarterfinal showdown between 2009 champ Juan Martin Del Potro and 2011 champ Novak Djokovic? That never materialized, either.
Neither did what would have been a huge semifinal between Djokovic and defending champ Andy Murray in a rematch of the 2012 U.S. Open final and the 2013 Wimbledon final — both won by Murray.
Federer, Del Potro and Murray all lost before making those matchups possible.
But now on Monday afternoon, here comes the dream final many anticipated.
No. 1 vs. No. 2.
Djokovic vs. Nadal.
Each is seeking his second U.S. Open title, with the No. 1 ranking on the line.
“He lost three matches this year. With no doubt he’s the best player in the moment this year, no question about it,” Djokovic said of playing Nadal after the Serb outlasted Stan Wawrinka, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in an epic 4-hour, 9-minute clash that brought the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd to its feet for a standing ovation before the fifth set began.
The Joker added of Rafa: “I see him as a favorite, no question about it.”
Nadal missed last year’s U.S. Open while he was out for seven months with a knee injury, but can now win his 13th career Major on Monday.
“Well, Novak is an amazing competitor,” he said after beating No. 8 Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2 in only 2 hours, 21 minutes. “His results says that he’s probably one of the best players that I have ever seen. He has been in the final of the U.S. Open a lot of times already. He had a chance to win in every match so he’s a great champion.
“Will be a tough final for me but I hope to be ready for that.”
Nadal and Djokovic each beat the other in their previous U.S. Open win, with Nadal defeating Djokovic in four sets to win the 2010 title, and Djokovic returning the favor in four sets to win the 2011 championship.
Each has won one Major this year, with Djokovic winning the Australian Open for his sixth career Grand Slam title and Nadal taking his eighth French Open and 12th Major later in the year.
This will be the 37th meeting between Nadal and Djokovic — the most in the Open Era — surpassing the 36 that heated rivals Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe played.
Nadal holds a 21-15 career edge on Djokovic, although Djokovic leads 11-6 on hardcourts.
Still, Nadal will be favored on Monday, and not just because he took an easier route to the final than Djokovic did.
Nadal has won nine tournaments this year and is 21-0 on hardcourts.
“I mean, he’s the ultimate competitor out there,” Djokovic said. “He’s fighting for every ball and he’s playing probably the best tennis that he ever played on hard courts.
“He hasn’t lost a match on hard court this year, and we all knew that over the course of last six, seven, eight years, hard court hasn’t been his favorite surface.”
Djokovic also spent nearly twice as long on court in the semis as Nadal did.
The game that epitomized the tightness of the Djokovic-Wawrinka match occurred in the third game of the fifth, a game that required 12 deuces and took 21 minutes to play — longer than Serena Williams’ first set required in her quarterfinal beatdown of Carla Suarez Navarro.
Before ultimately serving the game out, an exhausted Wawrinka stood behind the baseline, looked up at the packed crowd enjoying the battle and held his palms up to encourage them to cheer still more, a move that also gave him more time to recover from a groin injury he re-aggravated in the fourth set that required a medical timeout.
For a few moments, the action stopped, as Djokovic also motioned for the crowd to cheer louder as the two men bathed in the applause.
“I saw that the people were starting to get into it, and I asked them to be a little bit more, for sure to take maybe a little bit more time, but more to enjoy the moment, too,” Wawrinka said.
Wawrinka won the battle of that game but lost the war.
After Djokovic held an easy game to make it 2-2, Wawrinka was broken in the fifth game when he sailed a backhand long to go down 2-3. Djokovic held serve the rest of the way, closing it out with a 121-mph ace before holding his hands in celebration and then embracing Wawrinka at the net.
“I was thinking and I guess everybody was thinking whoever wins this [third] game is going to win the match,” Djokovic said. “After he won the game, I thought to myself, OK, I guess I have to fight against those odds.”
He persevered and will now have a day’s rest thanks to the new format which pushes the men’s final to Monday from Sunday.
Don’t think Djokovic — who must turn around and play the Davis Cup semifinals next weekend in Serbia — is happy about the Monday final, either.
“Well, to be honest, I’m not in support of Monday final, but this is what it is,” he said. “It’s better to have Monday final now when you have a Saturday semifinal than Sunday back-to-back five sets in two days like it was before….
“I don’t see why the US Open should get an exception in that. You know, Monday finals doesn’t go in the favor of the players who are playing Davis Cup, and I have been playing Davis Cup semifinals for last few years. Now I have to play for my country again, which makes it much more difficult for me.”
Regardless, now we finally get a match everyone was anticipating that will actually happen at this U.S. Open.
Djokovic vs. Nadal.
No. 1 vs. No. 2.
With a piece of history on the line.
