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Journalism of Courage
Facing two match points against a player whose name is already in history books,Novak Djokovic clenched his jaw,nodded his head and flashed an ever-so-slight glimpse of a smile. I would lie if I say I didnt think Im going to lose, Djokovic said.
Might as well go down swinging then,right? He turned violently on a wide,108 mph serve from Roger Federer for a cross-court,forehand winner that barely nicked the line. The fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium,ready to explode for a Federer victory,instead found themselves taking a cue from Djokovic who raised his hands,asking them to pump up the volume,and give him a little more love.
Turning point
Djokovic completed only his second career comeback from two sets down,while Federer lost a two-set lead for the second time in less than three months after going 178-0 lifetime before this years Wimbledon quarterfinals. It all turned on one shot. The forehand return,I cannot explain to you because I dont know how it happened, Djokovic said. I read his serve and I was on the ball and I had to hit it hard,and it got in,luckily for me.
Nadal beat Djokovic in the final last year,but Djokovic is 5-0 against the Spaniard this year. All the meetings have been in tournament finals,including Wimbledon. Hes obviously the favourite for the final,and I know I have to do something better than the other matches to try to change the situation, Nadal said.
Djokovic spent much of the first two sets shaking his head,commiserating with the folks in his players box,even folding his hands in mock prayer. Then,he turned things around suddenly and unexpectedly. He got an early break in the third to capture the momentum,and as the match wore on,the prospect of Federer grabbing it back,let alone getting a match point,seemed bleak.
Djokovic isnt putting together one of the greatest seasons in tennis history for nothing. And Federer wasnt totally convinced the shot that turned the match was legit. I never played that way, Federer said. I believe in the hard-works-going-to-pay-off kind of thing,because early on,maybe I didnt always work at my hardest. So for me,this is very hard to understand how can you play a shot like that on match point. But,look,maybe hes been doing it for 20 years,so for him it was very normal. Youve got to ask him.
Murray and Nadal were each playing their third match in three days and the toll showed more on Murray,who had the tougher road. We knew it was going to be like that for quite a few days and just tried to get through it and deal with it the best way we could, Murray said. But it was never going to be easy.
The start of the Federer-Djokovic semifinal was delayed for about an hour because showers began falling shortly before the players were supposed to walk on court,which had 9/11/01 painted in white to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. That made it an even longer wait for the headliners of the night session,Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki.
Dominating Serena
Williams dominated the top-seeded Wozniacki 6-2 6-4. In the other womens semifinal,No. 9 Sam Stosur beat Angelique Kerber 6-3 2-6 6-2 on the Grandstand Court.
In what was supposed to be her toughest test yet at the US Open,Williams moved a win away from her 14th Grand Slam title. For me,its amazing, Williams said. Ive come a long way,a really long way. No. 28 Williams has lost a grand total of 29 games over six matches here this year and hasnt dropped a set. It meant a lot to me to come out here as an American and still be in the tournament, Williams said. I really wanted to play tomorrow. Such a special day for the United States,so Im really excited.
Williams finished with 34 winners,compared to five for Wozniacki,though the clearest picture was painted early in the second set when Williams led 20-0 in that category.
