Djokovic Plays Well But Love Goes To Delpo

Novak Djokovic needed three hours to continue his defense of the U.S. Open Championship, taking down 2009 titleist Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets.

By Joe McDonald

(September 5, 2012) -- Tonight's second men's quarterfinal match at the 2012 U.S. Open was a clash of different personalities on Arthur Ashe: Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro was looking like a gentle Great Dane out there taking on Novak Djokovic’s Rottweiler-like aggressiveness. The momentum stayed this way throughout the evening, with Djokovic taking down Delpo in straight sets 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-4 in the US Open Men’s quarterfinals.

Djokovic will now take on No. 4 seed David Ferrer in the Semifinal on Saturday.

“It could have gone really either way,” Djokovic said. “It was very long, a lot of important and exciting, long rallies. The crowd got into it. So it was a lot of fun in one way to be a part of this great match.”

With Roger Federer out, Djokovic is now the favorite to win his second straight US Open title. But if you listened to the crowd, you would think he was some interloper and not the defending Champ.

The capacity Arthur Ashe crowd was almost all Del Potro, while Djokovic takes the role of villain for one more time.

“It's amazing for me to share with the crowd this kind of moment,” he said. “I really enjoyed playing in this stadium. I had my big memories here in this tournament, and I would like to say thank you a lot for these things. I think is the most difficult to get for the players.

“I really enjoyed when the crowd is really exciting with the players.”

You have to wonder what the Serb has to do to get loved by the Ashe crowd. He is the defending champion and he is also a pretty nice guy.

However, his on the court persona is that of an arrogant Serbian who seems to rub the crowd the wrong way. This is unfair, as he is just pumping himself up because of his good play.

Del Potro, on the other hand, wears his humble heart on his sleeve. You can tell when Djokovic’s killer serves returns right on the line in the second set were frustrating him.

“Some days are lucky with the other guy, some days with me,” Del Potro said. “That's part of the game. But anyway, I don't lose the match because that point. When he got to be focused and play better than me in the tiebreak he made and he deserve all the time, so I think that's it.”

Simply put people tend to cuddle up to the sad gentle dog wagging its tail, rather than a barking animal looking to attack them.

And you have to wonder if Djokovic’s comments on court a few years ago about Andy Roddick are still not forgiven here. New York is a tough town and they don’t forget.

With no Roger and no Rafa, only Djokovic is there to pay the rent. Andy Murray of course has a chance and David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych also are in it. But the smart money is on the Serbian to repeat.

“You have Murray, Berdych, Ferrer, myself, we're all top 10 players,” Djokovic said. “For maybe some people it was surprising to see Roger lose because he's been so consistent and dominant, you know, player in the last couple of years. He's always expected to get to at least semifinals of every Grand Slam.

“But look, you know, Berdych deserved to win. He came up with incredible tennis. I have never seen him play that well.

“This is tennis. You know, everybody is trying and has, I think, motivation more to perform their best when they're in a big stage playing against the top players, the favorites.”

Of the three though, Djokovic has the best shot. As demonstrated tonight, he can rise to the occasion. Hopefully the crowd sees the greatness and eventually warms up to the Serbian.

(Photo Credit: Andy Kentla)