Incredible Weekend in Sports Part One - Djokovic Overcome Two Opponents to Capture U.S. Open

Photo courtesy of Carine06's Flickr page - Djokovic the ballgirl: https://www.flickr.com/photos/43555660@N00/9584453115/in/photolist-ehs2zh-ehs2k5-8A4P7n-8A4NVX-fAWPZD-5rAKx8-5rAK1t-5rAJqe-5rF3Gq-5rAFAz-5rAEva-5rADUt-5rEYHf-5rEP2C-5rAsrt-5rEMgU-5rArir-5rEL9h-5rAqc8-5rApCi-fQgjvC-a5Rxiq-fyLjt1-6Wsa7F-5AFJ9k-5rJti3-5rE7Ax-5rE73Z-5rE6xX-5rJpBA-5rJp9Q-5rE4wx-5rE3ZD-5rJnCu-5rJkYd-5rE1cH-5rJjVU-5rJiN9-5rJdJQ-fywhDP-dFJnxw-fAWYZF-p2aXN1-p4cRkK-p2aVBC-ajKhAu-nbRa7n-amhytD-amhwTX-amkjah

What a busy weekend in sports!

We had one of the most incredible upsets in tennis history, and perhaps even sports history, when Vinci shocked Serena in the U.S. Open semifinals. Both the women and men's finals were played, albeit with some delays for the men's final relating to the crappy weather around here yesterday. And, of course, there was a very exciting opening weekend in the NFL, with some shocking results, and some wild finished. Unfortunately, my Giants were on the wrong side of one of those fantastic finishes.

Let's take a look at the U.S. Open Men's Final yesterday:

Initially, I was pulling for Roger Federer to win a record 18th Grand Slam title at the beginning of the match, much like most everyone else. Don't get me wrong, I like Djokovic entering into last evening's match. But just how many more opportunities is Federer to get to win another Grand Slam title, anyway? He keeps coming close, keeps reaching the final, but he also keeps falling short.

There is a good reason why, too. That reason is the number one tennis player in the game, and in the world, right now: Novak Djokovic.

So, yes, at the beginning of the match, I was definitely hoping that Federer would finally manage to pull it off, and win the title.

Then something happened, similar to what happened at Wimbledon. Djokovic was playing exquisite tennis, and Federer was falling behind. But one of the inescapable stories of the match was just how strongly the crowd pulled for their man, Federer. They got louder as the match went on. They remained loud after Federer lost the first set. Much louder once he won the second. Loud still when he lost the third, and then loud as the fourth and, as it turns out, the final set. Once again, Djokovic unwittingly was thrust into the position of being the villain. It got so bad, that at one point, after hitting a fault on first serve, the crowd roared to life, cheering wildly after not great tennis, but one man doing a regular, routine screw up that all tennis players suffer through.

They (the commentators) are going to have to say something about this now. And sure enough, they did. John McEnroe mentioned that the crowd had passed the line from being loud and vocal for their guy, into being actively unfair. I mean, really, cheering wildly when Djokovic hits a fault? How classless can you be?

I began to wonder why the crowd was so partisan in favor of their man, that they were blinded enough to start seemingly hating and virtually jeering Djokovic. This is a good guy! Very likable! I remember him, years ago, impersonating his fellow tennis players, with particularly hilarious imitations of Nadal and Sharipova. After winning Wimbledon, he got to his knees and clapped to Serena dancing at some kind of party or event honoring the two newly crowned champions. So, why do they seem to hate him?

That is why I began to pull for Djokovic instead. He deserves better than the treatment that he got last night at Flushing Meadows. There is nothing wrong for rooting for Federer, but I think that you go too far when you begin to actively root against everyone and anyone standing in the way. You have to give credit to Djokovic for overcoming not just a dangerous opponent, but an actively hostile crowd, to boot.

Perhaps it is just their love for Roger, although it should not reach that point where they seem to hate all comers. Djokovic won last night, and earned the victory. He played exceptionally well, and hit one stunning shot after another. It was almost like artwork. He is a decent guy, and playing tennis on a level where it almost looks like art, making the mighty Federer look bad! Why the hate?

The cool, calm, collected Roger that we have gotten used to over the many years was gone. He had looked so amazing throughout this tournament, and he looked to have a better chance at winning this final than he did earlier in the year at Wimbledon. In fact, for stretches when he was dominating his opponents one after another, just like the old Roger used to, it looked like this might be his moment, once again.

Yet also, once again, Djokovic was making Federer look old enough to look almost irrelevant. Suddenly, it was easy to forget that, despite his relatively advanced age for a tennis player, Federer is still ranked number two in men's tennis. Better than Nadal, who is significantly younger. Better than Andy Murray, who is also significantly younger. Better than the rest of the men's field, despite being significantly older than all of them. He might not be dominating with the ease that he dominated a decade ago, but he was still blowing by all opponents leading up to the men's final showdown.

Once again, the commentators were talking about how good Federer looked, and how this time, in the showdown against Djokovic, they were saying that this was the Fed's best shot.

But Djokovic took that away early, and it was very hard to picture Federer winning almost as soon as the match began, when Djokovic put the pressure on Federer's serve early, and jumped out to an early lead with a break.

Little by little, Djokovic kept plugging away, and wore down a version of Roger Federer who looked uncharacteristically old, slow, and ineffective. The final result of Djokovic eventually winning was basically a foregone conclusion.

Perhaps that is why the crowd tried to overdo it last night, to the point that the spectators seemed to be actively trying to change the outcome. They did not seem particularly bothered by how classless it all appeared.

In the end, it did not matter. Djokovic was the better player, overcoming all of the obstacles along the way, dispatching one opponent after another, and then overcoming two potentially dangerous opponents yesterday with ease: Federer and a very hostile crowd.

Now, Djokovic has captured his 10th Grand Slam title, and is catching Nadal and Federer slowly but surely. He may, or may not, have a chance to catch one or both. But given this era, and the level of talent and magnificence in the men's field today, his having won 10 Grand Slams is a remarkable achievement. Djokovic will surely be ranked number one at year's end, which would mark the 4th time that he achieved that feat. Plus, he looks as dominant as anyone ever has on the men's side, ultimately having come closer to the calendar Grand Slam than Serena did, even. Remember, he qualified for all of the men's Grand Slam finals, and won the last two after suffering one of the most brutal and painful losses that any tennis player suffered through in the French Open men's final to Wawrinka.

Through it all, he has shown remarkable class, even when the crowds (particularly the crowd last night at Flushing Meadows) treated him most unfairly. He is a champion that the tennis world should feel proud of, and it is hard to imagine his reign not extending through next year, and really for the foreseeable future. He is one of the best ever, and is coming closer to perhaps not just being in that conversation, but of being the towering figure in that conversation.

Congratulations to Novak Djokovic, easily the best player in the men's game right now. No one, not even a hostile crowd, can come close to staining the growing list of his accomplishments on the court.