Why Federer will beat Djokovic

Much like the Wimbledon, we have the World No 1, Novak Djokovic and the World No. 2, Roger Federer battling it out at the final at the Flushing Meadows. While Federer looks for his first slam since Wimbledon 2012, and his sixth US Open, Djokovic looks for his 10th Grand Slam and only his second US Open and will look to wrap up a very strong and positive year at the season’s last Grand Slam.

Irrespecitve of the stakes, we can look forward to an excellent game of tennis between the two men.

Roger Federer is in excellent form, which was visibly highlighted during his semi-final thrashing of Stan Wawrinka. He looks like a man on a mission.

ES presents you five major reasons why Roger Federer might be able to knock down Novak Djokovic at the final.

To read the opposite side of the story, check out: Why Djokovic will beat Federer.

US Open final after six years

FedEx was the Champion from 2004-2008, when he was at his prime. He went down to del Porto at the 2009 US Open Final at what became his last final at the Flushing Meadows till 2015. Having reached the final for the first time since then must mean a big thing for the 17 time Grand Slam Champion. Despite success in the Australian Open, he never claimed any significant silverware post 2009 at the US Open.

After every Grand Slam defeat that he has taken since 2012, people doubt whether he’ll continue playing, but he comes back the next time stronger than before. At the age of 34, he might not have a lot of years of tennis left in him, but he does have the will to fight. All said and done, the fact remains that this might be his best shot at a possible sixth US Open.

Rejuvenated service:

Roger Federer is serving like there is no tomorrow. His serve has been broken just twice in the past 81 games and he looks like he will let that statistic stand for a while longer.

Novak Djokovic is probably one of the finest movers across the court with his ever lasting stamina. He’s been the king of five setters, prevailing in most of the marathon matches he’s played. If Federer wants to beat him, he must have a strong serve to back him. Winning in an on court rally with Djokovic isn’t particularly easy.

“It’s definitely very good. Maybe my best, I’m not sure,” Federer said about his service. “I’m serving very well, playing positive tennis, going for my shots and it seems to work. I’d love it to work just one more time this year.”

Terrific form:

Prior to the US Open, Federer defeated Djokovic in straight sets at the Cincinnati Open, another hard court tournament. He didn’t drop a single set the entire tournament and carried his immense form to the US Open.

In the US Open as well, he is yet to drop a set, which makes him the winner of every set he has played since his defeat in Wimbledon. He has been broken only twice the entire tournament and has won 80 of his service games.

His match against Wawrinka was purely one sided, with the game lasting a mere 92 minutes. Heading into the final against Djokovic, against whom he has a small lead of 16-14 on hard courts, his performance against Wawrinka will help him stay upbeat. Federer also leads 3-2 at the US Open.

SABR

The new talk of the town, SABR or the Sneak Attack By Roger, has been Federer’s latest innovation. It basically involves Federer stepping forward to take the opponent’s second serve as a half volley to hit the shot right across the opponent’s base line while quickly running ahead towards the serve.

It drastically reduces his opponents time to swing their hand properly because of the unexpectedly quick ball that comes at them.

It is an extremely difficult shot to play, considering how difficult it is to half volley a serve coming at nearly 100kmph, and isn’t a guaranteed success either. But Federer manages to play it so well and use it rarely rather than often to still guarantee an element of surprise.

He debuted this shot at the Cincinnati Open final against Djokovic, whom he defeated in straight sets. The Serb was left fuming over the weird shot that he didn’t have an answer to. It’ll be nice to see how Djokovic responds to the SABR this time, but certainly the untimely shot will aid Federer against Djoker’s strong second service.

The Crowd

The crowd loves Roger Federer. The stadium is jam packed at each of his matches, with Federer fans enthusiastically cheering and motivating their favourite. He will be returning to the final after a massive gap of six years and the crowd will be pleased to have him there.

With Serena Williams out as well, Roger Federer will be the fan favourite for he tournament. Crowd support plays an essential part in any sport, and it is no different with tennis and Roger Federer.