Djokovic (24) - Nadal (22) - Federer (20)

[Jezza]

Djokovic is out of the US Open after retiring against Stan Wawrinka. Stan was outplaying him and hitting him off the park.

Wawrinka's run against Djokovic at slams is remarkable. H2H they're tied at 4-4.

US Open 2012 (4th Round) = Djokovic (3 sets) - Wawrinka retired
Australian Open 2013 (4th Round) = Djokovic (5 sets)
US Open 2013 (Semi Final) = Djokovic (5 sets)
Australian Open 2014 (Quarter Final) = Wawrinka (5 sets)
Australian Open 2015 (Semi Final) = Djokovic (5 sets)
French Open 2015 (Final) = Wawrinka (4 sets)
US Open 2016 (Final) = Wawrinka (4 sets)
US Open 2019 (4th Round) = Wawrinka (3 sets) - Djokovic retired

[K]

Wawrinka is getting old, but used to have the reputation as the guy with the best one-handed backhand. I think that guy is now Thiem.

This increases the already large Djokovic retirement list.

[Jezza]

Wawrinka still has one of the best one handed backhands in the world.

He's had a lot of injuries since mid-2017 but he's starting to recapture his form and climb up the rankings again.

[Jezza]

Novak Djokovic - Number of retirements per calendar year

2005 = 1
2006 = 2
2007 = 1
2008 = 2
2009 = 1
2010 = 1
2011 = 3
2012 = 0
2013 = 0
2014 = 0
2015 = 0
2016 = 1
2017 = 1
2018 = 0
2019 = 1

[K]

Yes, I've been planning to make posts about one- and two-handed backhands. I think I'll put all that in the Borg-McEnroe thread, because we associate Borg with that two-handed backhand. (I'll continue the serve-volley posts and influence-of-technology posts in this thread, unless there are objections.)

The game is better when there's a variety of techniques, playing styles and conditions. The move towards uniformity is bad.

[Jezza]

Federer lost to Dimitrov in 5 sets the other day.

US Open Semi Finals:

Berrettini [24] vs Nadal [2]

Medvedev [5] vs Dimitrov

[K]

Rafa is now on court in the second SF.
There are questions swirling about whether he's carrying an injury.

A short while ago, the US Open's social-media account posted this gif of Laver:

https://twitter.com/usopen/status/1170101530185404417

[Jezza]

Fantastic gif of Laver.

Rafa into the UO final against Medvedev.

[K]

Nadal hitting a tennis ball to McEnroe & someone else (who?) in the commentary booth:

https://twitter.com/OriginalYoni/status/1169671168485449728

[K]

In the final it's 2 sets all.

Nadal won the first 2 sets, but Medvedev came roaring back to level, and Nadal looks to be struggling.

-----------------------------

Update: The 4-hr mark has passed.

Nadal has had a time violation on serve but saved break points.

Medvedev is having physio on his left thigh.

[K]

Nadal wins the US Open in 5 sets, defeating Medvedev in 4 hrs 51 mins, 75 63 57 46 64.

It was a huge struggle at the end.

There will be some fallout too, e.g. the constant issue with the time clock, which at one point led to Nadal losing his first serve and therefore double faulting to lose serve.

[23 YIPPEE!!!]

Well done rafa

[K]

USOpen.org tells us:

"21,893.7: Number of feet that Nadal ran in the US Open final against Medvedev.

5: Number of times Nadal has won more than one major in a single season (2008, 2010, 2013, 2017, 2019).

206-1: Nadal's record when he wins the first two sets at a major. Fabio Fognini (2015 US Open, Round 3) is the only player to ever defeat him from two sets down at a major.

Men's Singles Titles Won After Turning 30:

Rafael Nadal, 5
Roger Federer, 4
Novak Djokovic, 4
Rod Laver, 4
Andre Agassi, 2
Jimmy Connors, 2
Stan Wawrinka, 2

19-8: Nadal's record in Grand Slam finals.

33: Nadal becomes the second-oldest US Open men's singles champion, second only to Ken Rosewall, who won the Open at 35 years of age in 1970."


Tennis World USA reports:

'Rod Laver praised Nadal's topspin left-handed forehand: "It's amazing to see Rafa control the ball so well...." '

[K]

The new serve clock in tennis appears to be backfiring

https://www.economist.com/game-theory/2018/08/19/the-new-serve-clock-in-tennis-appears-to-be-backfiring

Aug 19th 2018 by J.S.

"Enter the serve clock, the latest attempt to enforce the time limits designed to reduce between-point lulls and keep viewers engaged. This year’s U.S. Open ... will be the first major to display a countdown before each point... The innovative aspect of the screens, which are visible at both ends of the court, is not the time limit, but the transparency. For years, the rulebooks of the ATP and the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) have specified that players take no longer than 25 seconds between points. The four grand slams, which operate independently of the tours, have demanded a quicker turnaround of 20 seconds after a point is completed, although this year’s U.S. Open will relax the rule to the tour-standard 25. An offending player is issued a warning on the first violation, followed by the loss of a first serve, the loss of a point, and the loss of a game if he or she continues to serve too slowly. But this was a policy with no teeth...
...

At each of the completed tournaments where the serve clock has been used—Toronto, Montreal, San Jose, and Washington, D.C.—the average point took longer in 2018 than it did in 2017, without the clock. ...

This unintended consequence stems from two main sources. Faster players don’t always intend to rush, and a visible clock helps them set a more comfortable pace. Even Mr Djokovic, who can rarely be accusing of hurrying between points, has said that he feels like the clock gives him more time. At the other end of the spectrum, it is apparent that officials still remain reluctant to lock horns with the players they are charged with monitoring. The 25-second countdown begins when the umpire enters the score on a tablet. After extended rallies, umpires wait longer to start the clock. Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov, one of the few players so far to have griped about the system, pointed to this form of discretion as simply a new way for officials to favor the great and the slow, such as Mr Nishikori, the player who had just defeated him.

The serve clock has succeeded on one count, silencing doubters who feared that a countdown would draw too much attention and create a distraction. As for the stated goals, however, it has yet to speed up the game, and it still allows the umpire too much discretion to be completely transparent."


[J.S. of The Economist wrote too soon: it was a huge distraction in this year's final. I'd hate to see a Grand Slam decided by something so silly, which was uncomfortably close to happening.]

[Jezza]

Great final and congrats to Rafa on slam #19.