US Open Men’s Final: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times!

This Dickens line puts it more accurately than anything, how Federer fans felt in the two whirlwind weeks of the US Open.

“He reinvented himself, came back stronger, made a mockery of most players and then faltered on that last stage.”

A familiar foe fell him again. Novak Djokovic- the boy who grew up practising in empty swimming pools in war torn Serbia is the greatest tennis player right now, and no amount of ignorance and denial by Federer fans will change that.

Here are the five key points, what made this result similar to what we saw in Wimbledon.

5. Uncharacteristically sloppy Federer

Federer committed 54 unforced errors, that is as many as the number you get by combining the errors in the last 3 matches. He converted 39 off 59 approaches to the net. He rushed in too often, and Djokovic passed him off gloriously too often. From 80% points won on the first serve, it came down to 71%. Break point opportunities came and flew by and Federer kept on wasting them. In the end, it read 4/23 break points converted. Nole had it at 6/13.

Tennis is all about breaking the other person’s serve. No rocket science that Djokovic prevailed here and won the title. Federer hit a total of five double faults. Pretty sure even the Internet won’t remember the last time Roger Federer did that, leave alone in a Grand Slam final.

4. Djokovic has the measure of Federer

Following on to the previous point, it wasn’t just that Federer was sloppy. It was more like Djokovic ‘made’ him play sloppy. However, lyrical it sounds that Federer even controls the extent to which his opponent performs on the court, it is a disservice to players like Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Federer doesn’t just start performing lousily against Djoker on the big stages. The Serb’s game makes him do that. His unmatched court coverage and power of retrieving means that while going for the spectacular, Federer has to hit that forehand a tad bit finer, that backhand a bit more angular, that SABR return a bit closer to the net. And because he already plays with such fine margins, pushing it further just causes those uncharacteristic errors.

Have a look at the point where he broke Federer for the 2nd time in the 4th set. Federer serves and rushes to the net, and in this all mighty important point, Djokovic just slaps a cross court backhand winner past Federer and exults. It’s the battle cry with which a victor signs off. You’re not suppossed to do that to Federer. You’re supposed to respect him. But then, you’re also supposed to go home defeated. Quite obviously Djokovic threw back that rulebook a long time ago.

3. Greatness is its own worst enemy

It was an excellent match, better than 99% of the tennis matches, but it wasn’t a classic. Epic it was, memorable it wasn’t. It was an uncharacteristically error filled match, even for the machine like precise Djokovic. There were a total of 10 double faults. Forehands flew wide, backhands were slapped against the net and first serves missed the mark by a country mile. On a night, when the chair umpire gave one of the best performances of recent time ( take a bow, Eva Asderaki!), the champions felt a little too drawn and surrounded by the occasion. It wasn’t that they didn’t put on a show, just that there happened to one wrong turn too many. Not to forget that Federer put an overhead smash in the 2nd tier of the Arthur Ashe Arena. It was that kind of a night!

2. Djoker thrives on no support

Freeze the frame when Djokovic exhorts after the second break in the fourth set. You see around 50 people in the background, of which maybe 5-6 are standing and exulting with the same unbridled joy. The rest are applauding as you are supposed to in a tennis match, lest you be deemed uncouth, but are quite clearly Federer fans. It was an accurate description of the tennis watching audience in the stadium, and across the world. They were appreciating Djokovic, but were hating him for making their beloved Roger suffer. In a bit of an unforeseen occurrence, people started jeering, whistling and even booing him, every time he hit a forehand wide or made an error.

Quite obviously, football watching people. But, totally uncalled for. Genius, they say, demands an audience, and in that respect, Djokovic is that petulant flashy kid who wants to show off all his new moves so that people pay attention to him, love him and root for him. Everytime he won an important point, he looked towards his box, towards coach Becker as if vindicating him for the trust in his protégé, but , more importantly, it was a statement to the crowd. “YOU MADE THIS HAPPEN> YOU MADE ME DO THIS TO HIM.”

Nostrils flared up, pumped fists, chest thumping and amping up the decibel scores, he wouldn’t have been out of place in a street fight. But, that is how he is. An antithesis to your aesthetically pleasing Federer, a tad more efficient and ruthless.

1. Djokovic is a cyborg

No point hiding behind essays after essays. Djokovic is a cyborg, who plays with an astonishing efficiency, which doesn’t always make for beautiful viewing, but is quite unheard of, ever. And might not be surpassed.

This isn’t to say that he doesn’t have his weak points. But, he is the mentally strongest athlete ever. He makes up for faults in his play ( though there are hardly any) with a combination of iron will and physical endurance, making it almost a surreal experience, if one were to beat him.

The world kept on rooting for Serena, while he quietly went out and completed an even more stunning year. Pound for pound, he had a more successful year, with three Grand Slams and one Final appearance, compared to her three Slams and one Semi-Final. He was the loneliest person in the world, when at 5-4, in the fourth set, serving for Championship, he was two break points down at 15-40.

As the commentator put it, again uncharacteristic of a tennis match, the crowd was going “nuts”. They were rooting for Federer to somehow win this point and come back to 5-5 from 5-2. Momentum would be his. The match would go on into the 5th most probably. Could their dream finally come true? But, Djokovic hung on, taking 2 points, going a break down at deuce, levelling it, advantage. And, Game Over. Game, Set, Match, Championship!

The sheer fortitude to pull of such a feat against such a partisan crowd, against a Roger Federer who looked like somebody had finally yanked him out of the auto mode he was operating in for much of the fourth set is sheer crazy.

Federer has been a religious experience for so many over the past 12 years, but Djokovic is some ethereal, otherworldly sensation, You want him to lose, but you can’t help but marvel at his level of play. You wish to see him make a mistake, but you know he won’t!