For now, he has caught Sampras, a big server from California with the fabulous running forehand. Sampras has more in common with Federer stylistically than with Djokovic and his two-handed backhand and ability to turn defense into offense.

“Pete Sampras is one of the biggest legends ever to play the game,” Djokovic said. “He was my childhood idol. He was someone I was looking up to. The first actual thing I saw related to tennis on the TV was his first or second Wimbledon championship. That inspired me to start playing tennis. There is a lot of significance of me being now shoulder to shoulder in terms of Grand Slam wins with him.”

To achieve that, he had to deny a player who had endured a long wait to be back on this stage. The last time del Potro played the final in New York, Ashe Stadium did not have a roof and Barack Obama was in the first year of his presidency.

That was in September 2009, and del Potro swept past Nadal in the semifinals and rallied to beat Federer in the final.

The tennis world was at his big feet and forehand. He was just 20. But four wrist operations stopped his rise and left him contemplating retirement in 2015. He is in the midst of a fine season and was a clear crowd favorite as the Argentine fans and others familiar with his back story threw their support behind him from the start.