If you listen to the Great Shot Podcast, you know I don’t talk very much. If you’re a diehard listener, then you also know I’ve got almost as big a man crush on Novak Djokovic as Gruskin does on Andy Murray. So naturally, I couldn’t help but jump at the opportunity to write our US Open Men’s Final match review article. I will do my best to remain objective.

Despite lasting only three sets, this match might have been one of the best matches in recent US Open history. The third seed Juan Martin Del Potro (who has dropped a whopping one spot in the ATP rankings since the final) came into the match with a record of 43-9.

Delpo had put up some impressive stats in this tournament. He had more or less rolled through his opponents up through the final. The only set he dropped was to big man and “super-fun-to-watch” John “the Tiebreaker” Isner. He posted up relatively quick wins against Borna Coric (20) and World Number 1 Rafael Nadal (to whom he had lost last year in the 2017 US Open Final).

This year, Del Potro has won two hard court including the ATP Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells. Until the final, I personally thought he looked unstoppable. Although his win over Nadal comes with a loud asterisk given Rafa’s physical state and subsequent default, Delpo’s play was all but flawless throughout the two sets. I am convinced he would have won in 3 or 4 sets even against a healthy Rafa. Pushing around his opponent around with his signature “fearhand,” Delpo appeared unfazed by Nadal’s attempts to exploit his backhand. This strategy had plagued him in their match last year. Del Potro absolutely deserved his spot in the final.

Unfortunately for him, he ran into a Novak Djokovic who looks to be playing at about 99% of his highest level in the early-mid 2010s. Rafa himself has said that when Novak is playing at his best, no one in the world can beat him. I think that this match represented one of those occasions.

Interestingly, Novak’s year has not been a whole lot more impressive than Delpo’s. He came into the final with a record of 39-10, three titles (albeit one Grand Slam), and having dropped two sets in the tournament to Delpo’s one. It was by no means a given that Djokovic would take the match. I certainly did not expect a straight set final.

Djokovic clearly had a game plan that played to his strengths and took advantage of the conditions. Despite having played more sets, he was certainly the fitter of the two. The courts have allegedly been playing slower this year. As such, Novak came out of the gates ready to hit dozens of shots every point and expecting Delpo to effectively wear himself out trying to crush forehands.

If I may be so bold, I know from experience that when you go out on the court knowing you don’t hit as hard but can outlast your opponent, you play within yourself, avoid making senseless errors, and get mentally ready to haul a** every time the ball is in play.

While he naturally played mostly to Del Potro’s backhand, Djokovic was not afraid to play with power to the forehand side. This strategy may seem counterintuitive, but actually makes a lot of sense against a player with such a conspicuous weapon. By now Delpo is used to guys playing to his backhand, which gives him a sense of comfort and allows him to sit in the backhand corner and look to run around and play his inside out forehand (most big forehand players’ favorite shot). Djokovic was willing to engage in forehand crosscourt rallies and trusted himself to chase down big shots He even approached to Delpo’s forehand a number of times, which ended up paying off. Djokovic won 76% of his net points.

First set ✅ Djokovic serves out the set 6-3… Will Del Potro fight his way back into the championship?#USOpen pic.twitter.com/0SZMqrEj8I — US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2018

In the first set and a half, Djokovic’s brick wall strategy worked immaculately. Delpo came out swinging freely but looked to be having trouble hitting through Novak. Delpo made a helluva comeback, taking advantage of a slight dip in Novak’s level and winning three quick games from 1-3 down in the second. After losing a marathon game at 4-3 with multiple break opportunities, the momentum swung back to Nolé (yes, I can call him that) and left Delpo panting.

At that point, it was obvious that Delpo needed to even the set score to get to a breaker in order to have a sliver of chance. As the McEnroe brothers all-too-willingly remarked, Novak looked like he could play for hours, while Juan Martin was trying to end points early just to conserve energy.

In a last ditch effort to rally the crowd, Del Potro managed to break back again in the third set. But it was too little, too late – Djokovic only got steadier and more aggressive as the match went on. He forced Delpo to play outside of his comfort zone. Delpo’s unforced error total skyrocketed, and he finished 47 to Novak’s 38.

🏆🏆🏆@djokernole defeats Del Potro 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 to win his 3rd title in Flushing Meadows! He now ties Pete Sampras for third place all-time on the Grand Slam singles titles list with 14.#USOpen pic.twitter.com/xwzzmr22E0 — US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2018

All told, Delpo actually hit fewer winners than Djokovic (31 to Novak’s 32)– never a good sign for a player who makes a living out-gunning his opponents.

And with that, we finish another year with a Grand Slam sweep by the Big Three. This has to end eventually. Doesn’t it?

Let’s just enjoy the greatness for now.

Do you have any observations from the men’s final? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.