I can imagine so because his knew was already questionable in the tournament. Nadal is the ultimate fighter though and you have to beat because he won't give it to you, even when he is not quite 100%.
Nadal/Delpo was good and I probably would place that second. I missed Federer/Del Potro at IW but I need to download and watch it. Yea I thought the USO final was really good and intense at times and closer than the scoreline showed. Del Potro cracked at times under pressure and made forehand errors at key moments but I think that relentless barrage of defense to offense from Djokovic really started getting to him.
I watched the match again yesterday and I could see it in peace and not be so nervous. It was clear watching it again that Djokovic learned from that 2016 USO final because when he had opportunities to get to the net, he didn't hesitate and really was aggressive and kept the pressure on Del Potro.
Well I’ve noticed some key new plays in Novak’s playbook and I think Rafa should take note and perhaps look at adjusting his game a bit to shorten points.
1. Novak is serving mainly slice 2nd served often way over 100 mph. Making his 2nd serve hard to attack.
2. His FH seems to be now hit with a lot more spin...has slight similarity to Thiem. Resultis leas errors off that wing in big moments which used to be an Achilles heel for him
3. Much more forays to the net. His volleys now look a lot more solid as does the overhead.
The above 3 points I believe are moving him towards being the complete player.
From a Rafa fan view point I feel Rafa needs to work on his 1st serve to get more cheap points. It is hard enough but his location is not in the corners enough and I think it’s easy to read where he is going. In the Us Open every service game he had had long rallies...it takes its toll. I also feel he now needs to stand further in returning serve. He can do it as in 2010 he was returning on the baseline and that was GOAT level performances he put in back then at US Open. He also needs to cut down his clay season as it is taking a lot out of him. I would drop Monte Carlo from his schedule and maybe Rome. He cant drop Barcelona as it’s his stadium and obviously he won’t drop Madrid given he looks like he will be President of Real Madrid.
I really thought Djokovic was a joy to watch. Can he do a Calendar Slam?