How Djokovic Defeated Federer

Novak Djokovic advanced to the men's US Open final by defeating Roger Federer 6-7(9), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 on Saturday.  In the first two sets, Roger's forehand had markedly more pace than Novak's, and Roger's backhand looked more potent than ever before, such as on the explosive topspin backhand that finished the first set.  In the last three sets, Roger started making less clean contact, in part because Novak improved his pace and depth, but Roger's sharpness fell off on his serve as well. Roger had two match points at 5-3 in the fifth set. On Roger's first match point, Novak hit a blistering, untouchable winner, but on the second, Roger had a relatively easy ball that he hit into the top of the net, his most common error on high-pressure points.  When Roger got broken at 5-5 in the fifth set, he lost one point hitting the top of the net and another trying an inside-in forehand while falling to his left, a less frequent error, but one that also tends to appear under pressure.  Novak won the other points in that key break game with outstanding shots, part of a performance that produced 48 winners to 35 unforced errors.  Roger had 49 winners, but 59 unforced errors.  A tough loss isn't all bad if you learn something from it; if this match helps Roger remember to hit with a higher margin of clearance and not try inside-in forehands on pressure points, he may win a few big, future matches he wouldn't have otherwise.