Federer will likely feel unsatisfied with his performance in one regard: Of the 23 break-point opportunities he created against Djokovic, the 17-time major champion won just four points. Even a player as skilled as Federer can't allow Djokovic to have that many second chances.
But take no credit away from Djokovic. He was fantastic from start to finish and wore Federer down over the course of the match. It's a testament to Djokovic's immense ability that Federer left everything he had on the court and it still wasn't enough to beat the No. 1 player in the world.
While this match only went four sets, it's undoubtedly one of the more dramatic entries in the ongoing competitive rivalry between the two stars.
Entering Sunday, Federer owned a slight head-to-head advantage, winning 21 of their 41 meetings.
"That's what I like about the rivalry," the Swiss said this past Friday, per USOpen.org. "I think we both can—I don't know how it is for him, but I feel like he doesn't need to adjust his game as much, either. I think it's just a straight shootout, and I think that's the cool thing about our rivalry. It's very athletic."
The last time the two played, at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati in August, Federer picked up a straight-sets victory.
Any hope of a repeat result was quickly dashed after Djokovic picked up the first set 6-4. Federer struggled on his second serve, winning eight of 19 points, and had 15 unforced errors. And his inability to consistently land his first serve in—53 percent success rate—only exacerbated the first issue.
Looking to turn things around in the second, Federer relied much more heavily on his work at the net and the serve-and-volley. The strategy proved successful as he won 13 of his 20 points at the net.
Federer also utilized his much-discussed SABR plan, which involves rushing forward as his opponent is attempting a second serve. The tactic didn't always work out, such as in this point during the fourth game of the second set, per U.S. Open Tennis:
Federer secured the second set after holding serve in the 11th game and then breaking Djokovic in the 12th to prevail 7-5.
The third set essentially represented the point of no return for Federer. Any hopes of a U.S. Open title hinged in large part on his winning the third set and taking a 2-1 lead.
Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim sensed Federer was pressing a bit too much in an effort to overcome his younger, more talented opponent:
That's evident in the match stats as well, as Federer had 13 winners but 11 unforced errors in the third set. The 34-year-old also lost 15 of the 28 medium rallies as he attempted to put too much behind his groundstrokes.
Djokovic also continued to do a great job of bending and not breaking on serve. He allowed Federer to have five break-point opportunities and saved four of them. Meanwhile, he converted on both of his break-point opportunities, which proved to be the difference in the set.
When Federer dropped the third set, the final result looked inevitable. Not only is Djokovic superb at closing out matches, but Federer had never once won a Grand Slam final after falling behind through three sets, per ESPN Stats & Info and ESPNTennis:
As Wertheim alluded to, both players were in a similar situation in the final of Wimbledon, which Djokovic won in four sets:
The 28-year-old quickly ran out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth and fought back a late charge from Federer to win the title.
Perhaps it's premature, but Djokovic may enter 2016 with a legitimate shot at completing the Grand Slam. When he's at his best, no man in the world can beat him. On paper, the biggest potential snag for Djokovic in a Grand Slam bid would be Rafael Nadal at the French Open, but Nadal's health and form are big question marks.
For Federer, simply winning one major title would represent a successful season. The longer he continues to play, the harder it will become to collect that 18th Grand Slam title. He hasn't won a major since Wimbledon in 2012, which feels like a lifetime ago.
With any luck, fans will be treated to another titanic clash between these two in one or more major finals next year.
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