20-year-old Naomi Osaka was too good for Serena Williams in the women’s final, taking care of her idol in straight sets. It wasn’t without controversy though, with Williams being docked a game and a point for calling veteran chair umpire Carlos Ramos a “thief” in what was a bizarre outburst from the champion American.
We now shift our focus to the Men’s US Open Final, where 13-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic is taking on former US Open champion and number 3 seed Juan Martin Del Potro. Once again, we’ve provided a preview and our best bet for what promises to be an exciting match.
When/where
Sunday, September 10 6:00am AEST
Arthur Ashe Stadium
New York, USA
Novak Djokovic (2018 Record: 39-10)
One of the greatest to ever play the game, Novak Djokovic is in to his 8th career US Open final, where he holds a 2-5 record. He’s had remarkable success at the tournament, reaching an incredible 11 straight Semi-finals. If anything, he’d be disappointed that he hasn’t converted his success into more titles. Djokovic has a career US Open record of 62-10 (86%), which puts him up there with the best of all time. He’s won 13 Grand Slam titles in total (4th all time) and will looking to tie Pete Sampras with 14 Grand Slams, putting him equal 3rd all time.
If Djokovic isn’t back to his absolute best then he’s extremely close to it. He’s been in scintillating form over the past couple of months, winning Wimbledon, winning in Cincinnati, and now charging all the way through to the US Open final. He surprisingly dropped a set in both his first and second round matches, but has since gone on to dominate his next four opponents in straight sets. His Semi-final victory of Kei Nishikori would suggest that he’s peaking at the right time and that it will take something special from Delpo to knock him off.
Novak Djokovic’s road to the final
Round 1: Defeated Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-0
Round 2: Defeated Tennys Sandgren 6-3, 6-1, 6-7, 6-2
Round 3: Defeated [26] Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-3, 6-3
Round 4: Defeated Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Quarter-final: Defeated John Millman 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Semi-final: Defeated [21] Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
Juan Martin Del Potro (2018 Record: 37-10)
On the other side of the net in the US Open final is the Argentinian gentle giant, Juan Martin Del Potro. After years of struggling with injuries he’s finally been able to get his body right, which has resulted in an outstanding 2018 season. He’s climbed all the way up to 3rd in the world rankings on the back of great results at the French Open where he made the Semi-final and Wimbledon where he played in the Quarter-finals. He miraculously won the US Open back in 2009 when he knocked off Roger Federer in 5 sets as a 20-year-old.
Delpo’s run to the final at this year’s US Open has been really impressive. He hasn’t had an easy run by any means, but has managed to have dropped just one set for the whole tournament. He absolutely dismantled Coric in the 4th round, he won the battle of the big men in his quarter-final duel with Isner, but the most impressive win was that over Nadal in the Semi’s, albeit a very sore Nadal who was forced to retire after two sets.
Juan Martin Del Potro’s road to the final
Round 1: Defeated Donald Young 6-0, 6-3, 6-4
Round 2: Defeated Denis Kudla 6-3, 6-1, 7-6
Round 3: Defeated [31] Fernando Verdasco 7-6, 7-6, 6-3
Round 4: Defeated [20] Borna Coric 6-4, 6-3, 6-1
Quarter-final: Defeated [11] John Isner 6-7, 6-3, 7-6, 6-2
Semi-final: Defeated [1] Rafael Nadal 7-6, 6-2 (retired)
Head-to-head
Djokovic leads 14-4 (10-3 on hard court)
Prediction
We’re expecting this one to go the distance as both players are in unbelievable form and each have their own strengths that will keep the scoreboard ticking over. The serve of Del Potro will play a huge part in the outcome of this match. If it’s on then a upset may very well be on the cards. The overs for total games seems like the best value here.
Total Games Over (39.5)
$1.90
