In May, Novak Djokovic entered the Internazionali BNL d’Italia with a 6-6 tour-level record in 2018.

After a fourth-round loss to inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals champion Hyeon Chung at the Australian Open, his first tournament appearance in six months, Djokovic underwent a small medical intervention on a right elbow injury. On his return to action in March, back-to-back opening match losses in Indian Wells and Miami followed, before early defeats on clay in Monte-Carlo, Barcelona and Madrid.

In Rome, Djokovic produced an encouraging run of performances before falling to eventual champion Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. That result saw the Serbian, who reached the final in the Italian capital 12 months earlier, drop to No. 22 in ATP Rankings on 21 May; equalling his lowest position since 2 October 2006.

A disappointing loss to breakout star Marco Cecchinato in the Roland Garros quarter-finals followed, before Djokovic’s season took a sharp turn for the better as he walked onto the grass courts of Great Britain. The former World No. 1 reached his first final in almost a year at the Fever-Tree Championships in June, holding championship point before falling in three sets to Marin Cilic.

“There was always part of me that believed I could come back relatively quickly to the level of tennis that I once was playing,” said Djokovic. “But at the same time I felt like the six months off served me very well to find new motivation, inspiration, to recharge my batteries and also to understand how I want to continue playing tennis… I had more time to work on certain things. Unfortunately I couldn’t serve because I still had that pain. But all the other shots I could really work on.

“I think sometimes that’s nice to have, even though you don’t want to be injured. At the same time it allows you to have more periods of time where you can focus on certain elements in your game, things that usually you don’t have time to reflect on.”

Not to be discouraged by his near miss at The Queen’s Club, Djokovic went from strength to strength, ending his 54-week title drought at Wimbledon. The Belgrade-born star defeated World No. 1 Nadal in the semi-finals, over two days, after five hours and 15 minutes, in an instant classic on Centre Court before capturing his 13th Grand Slam crown with a straight-sets win over Kevin Anderson.

A Round of 16 loss to #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas followed at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, a stumbling block on the road to Djokovic’s unique entry into the history books, in the following week, at the Western & Southern Open. In Cincinnati, Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the championship match to capture the Career Golden Masters,  completing his set of the nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles..

The first man to ever accomplish the feat, Djokovic entered New York high on confidence and has carried his form through the tournament. Since dropping the third set of his second round match against Tennys Sandgren, Djokovic has won 13 consecutive sets; his second longest streak en route to a championship match.

Number Of Consecutive Sets Won At A Grand Slam By Djokovic En Route To The Final

With a 68-10 record at the US Open, Djokovic will face Juan Martin del Potro for the 19th time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series (Djokovic leads 14-4) in Sunday’s final. Bidding to win Wimbledon and the US Open in the same year for the third time in his career (2011, 2015), Djokovic will attempt to record his fourth consecutive victory over the Argentine. Del Potro’s last victory against Djokovic came in the opening round of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

“He’s a big-time player. He’s a big-match player. He’s a Grand Slam winner,” said Djokovic. “He’s playing the tennis of his life, without a doubt, in the past 15 months… Ever since [the 2016 Olympic Games, he has been] very consistent in the big tournaments. That’s what has made him No. 3 in the world. He’s working his way up. He’s playing really some powerful tennis.”

Will Djokovic, appearing in an Open Era record-tying eighth US Open final, be able to lift his third title in New York and join Pete Sampras on 14 Grand Slam titles? One thing is for sure, Djokovic certainly has momentum on his side.

Most Grand Slam Titles (All Time)

“Seeing the results, the consistency of the results I’ve had here, it probably has been my most successful Grand Slam,” said Djokovic. “Of course, I won the Australian Open six times, never lost finals there. I think I’ve played more than 10 semi-finals here. It’s definitely one of my favorite tournaments to play because of the conditions and because of the fact that I’ve played so well in each year that I keep on coming back to the US Open.

“I know that I feel very comfortable here. It just allows me to feel more comfortable playing, starting the tournament and going through it. I have two finals won and five losses. But hopefully I can get one better in few days.”

At the age of 20, Juan Martin del Potro stunned the tennis world by winning back-to-back matches against Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to lift the 2009 US Open title. The 6’6″ Argentine blasted his way into the history books, becoming just the second man, after Nadal, to defeat Federer in a Grand Slam championship match and joined Novak Djokovic as one of two men to break Federer and Nadal’s hold over Grand Slam events since Roland Garros in 2005.

Now, nine years on, Del Potro stands one win away from recapturing the trophy at his favourite tournament. The 2009 winner has won 81 of 88 service games en route to the final, where he will meet Novak Djokovic, bidding to win his second straight Grand Slam trophy after triumphing at Wimbledon in July.

“I cannot believe that I will have a chance to play another Grand Slam final here, which is my favourite tournament,” said Del Potro. “So it will be special to me. It will be a big challenge, as well, because I’ve been fighting with many, many problems to get to this moment.

“I’m here now. It will be a difficult match… In the finals, anything can happen. If I win, great. If not, I have been playing a great tournament and I will be happy anyway.”

But to understand the significance of Del Potro’s return to the US Open final, you have to understand the journey between the two Grand Slam final appearances. Del Potro is bidding to win his second Grand Slam title in his 22nd major tournament since capturing his maiden crown. Should the 29-year-old defeat Djokovic, he would set an Open Era record for most events played in between a first and second Grand Slam title.

Longest Gap Between First And Second Grand Slam Titles

The journey from 2009 and 2018 has been dramatic, with four wrist surgeries and a drop to No. 1045 in the ATP Rankings all a part of the struggle a determined Del Potro has endured en route back to the US Open championship match. After clinching his maiden Grand Slam title in 2009, the Tower of Tandil soon reached the final of the Nitto ATP Finals, once again defeating Federer, before falling to Nikolay Davydenko.

But just as Del Potro appeared to be ready to take his game to the new heights in 2010, a right wrist injury wreaked havoc with his plans. The Argentine missed eight months of the season after a Round of 16 exit at the Australian Open, losing the opportunity to defend his title in New York before back-to-back losses on his return to action called an end to his season.

Three encouraging seasons followed for Del Potro between 2011 and 2013, with 10 tour-level trophies captured. But the 2009 champion failed to move past the quarter-finals stage in Flushing Meadows, with a last-eight loss to Djokovic in 2012 his best result.

Three further wrist surgeries were needed between 2014 and 2015 as Del Potro plummeted down the ATP Rankings, with doubt cast over whether the Argentine had a future in the sport. But Del Potro, as No. 1042, made his latest return to action at the 2016 Delray Beach Open.

“The worst moment was in 2015 when I was close to quitting this sport because I couldn’t find a way to fix my wrist problems,” said Del Potro. “I had been suffering a lot. I got depressed for a couple of months also. I didn’t get the chance to feel better with myself, to do this again. That was the bad moment for me.

“But I think that is completely in the past, and now I’m having a good present, looking forward for the future. I didn’t expect to get these kind of emotions playing tennis again. Reaching finals, winning titles, having my highest ranking ever in this moment, everything is almost perfect.”

In 2016 and 2017, Del Potro re-established himself as one of the best players on the ATP World Tour, climbing back up the ladder with title runs in Stockholm and consistency throughout the year. In New York, quarter-final and semi-final showings proved the Argentine was back in title contention at the biggest events.

But 2018 has seen Del Potro return to peak form, breaking back into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings in January before lifting his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title at the BNP Paribas Open in March. Deep runs at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and Los Cabos saw Del Potro reach a career-high No. 3 on 13 August, before he once again returned to New York. But this time, Del Potro arrived as a serious title contender.

After six victories, with just one set dropped, Del Potro has lived up to his billing at the US Open. The 2009 champion returns to a Grand Slam final for the first time since his surprise win over Federer nine years ago and could end a streak of eight consecutive Grand Slam titles won by players aged 30 or over. Andy Murray’s 2016 Wimbledon triumph, as a 29-year-old, marked the last title run by a player under 30 at a Grand Slam.

Can Del Potro, nine years on, recreate the heroics of that famous night against Roger Federer on Arthur Ashe Stadium? Del Potro may be referring to himself as the underdog on Sunday, but he knows, better than anyone, how to defy the odds.

“Novak has won Wimbledon already. He’s playing so good. He will be the favourite to win on Sunday,” said Del Potro. “But I don’t know. When I played Roger nine years ago, he was the favourite to win, as well. I will try to make the surprise again.”

In the first all-unseeded mixed doubles final at the US Open since 2009, Jamie Murray lifted the US Open title on Saturday. The Brit, competing alongside home favourite Bethanie Mattek-Sands for the first time, defeated Nikola Mektic and Alicja Rosolska 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 to triumph in Flushing Meadows for the second straight year.

Murray, who lifted the trophy with Martina Hingis last year, and Mattek-Sands trailed 1/4 in the Match Tie-break before converting their fourth championship point to lift the trophy. Murray becomes the first man to win back-to-back mixed doubles titles in New York since Bob Bryan (2003-04). It is Murray’s fourth mixed doubles Grand Slam title and sixth overall, with two men’s doubles successes alongside Bruno Soares at the 2016 Australian Open and US Open.

Mattek-Sands, a five-time women’s doubles Grand Slam champion and three-time mixed doubles major winner, lifts her eighth Grand Slam crown. The 33-year-old Pheonix resident clinches her first US Open mixed doubles title in her second final after finishing as a runner-up in 2015 with fellow American Sam Querrey. Murray and Mattek-Sands receive $155,000, while Mektic and Rosolska will split $70,000.

Mutua Madrid Open champion Mektic was bidding to win his first Grand Slam mixed doubles trophy. Mektic’s first-time partner Rosolska was aiming to become the first Polish player to win a mixed doubles Grand Slam event.

Juan Martin del Potro, who will face two-time champion Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s US Open final, recently spoke with Chloe Cooper Jones for a feature with GQ Magazine.

The 6’6″ Argentine, who beat Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer en route to his maiden Grand Slam title nine years ago, shared his memories of his run in 2009, the injuries that followed and his unique bond with tennis fans:

The stands are packed with fans dressed in blue and white, waving the Argentinian flag. Del Potro waves to the crowd, which morphs into a wall of cell phones, ready to record his every move on court. He’s only a few minutes into his warm-up before the fans start singing the familiar refrain heard at all his matches. “Ole, ole ole ole, Delpo, Delpo!”

At an earlier practice, a young girl started weeping at the mere sight of him. She held her arms out to him until he came over to comfort her. It’s not pity for his injuries that inspires so much devotion from his fans; it’s how he’s recovered from them.

“I take the really sad moments with me to the court,” del Potro says. “I’m able to transform all that energy, and from it create strength, faith, and a will to honor everything I’ve gone through. I use the memory of those painful moments as a weapon to keep fighting.”

Soon he’ll leave Miami and return to his hometown of Tandil for a well-earned rest. Tandil was founded around a mysterious boulder that teetered precariously on the edge of a mountain, defying gravity. The rock eventually fell, splitting into two at the bottom of a canyon. A replica of the rock was built and put back in the same spot, this time engineered not to fall again from the mountain. The rock is cemented there, no longer by luck but by science and technology.

In Argentina, del Potro is often referred to as the Tower of Tandil. He has fallen, been put back together, reconstructed, and now stands stronger than ever. He’s not an underdog anymore. He’s not fragile. A kid in the stands holds up a sign that says “Delpo the Gentle Giant,” and I think, Sure, kid. This is the kind giant who grinds opponents’ bones for his bread.

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