Juan Martin del Potro v Novak Djokovic Preview – 9th September 2018
Two former US Open Champions will meet in the final of Flushing Meadows on the weekend to be crowned the 2018 champion. Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro was on fire against the defending champion Rafael Nadal in their semi final match, but Nadal had to retire injured at the end of the second set. Djokovic produced a masterclass in beating Kei Nishikori in his semi final match and the Siberian is targeting a piece of history.
Juan Martin del Potro v Novak Djokovic Odds*
Novak Djokovic 2/5
Juan Martin del Potro 2/1
* (betting odds taken from Bet365 on September 8th, 2018 at 4:20 am)
Delpo in peak form
Arguably there hasn’t been anyone playing better at the US Open this season than Del Potro has done. He has churned out some very powerful performances and has been so consistent. The Argentine has only dropped the one set along the way which was in his quarter final duel with John Isner in the intense heat that has been knocking around New York.
In his semi final match against reigning champion Rafa Nadal, Del Potro was the underdog but he came out all-guns-blazing and really took the initiative in the match. He got the first set on the board and at that point, Nadal knew he was up against it. Unfortunately, we were denied a cracking match though as Nadal injured his knee at the start of the second set and retired at the end of it.
So that was a break at least for Del Potro who got back to the dressing room early and could rest up. His service game has been so good at the tournament and we have to look at this one going to four sets at 13/8 odds with bet365* (betting odds taken on September 8th, 2018 at 4:20 am). Del Potro, ranked third in the world at the moment, won the US Open in 2009 and reached the semi-finals here last year.
Djokovic amps it up
Novak Djokovic, a two-time US Open champion, was in beast-mode against Kei Nishikori in their semi final match up. He took a win in straight sets and although at times the Serbian has really struggled with the heat at the tournament, he looked fresh as a daisy in that semi final. The cooler weather clearly helped him out and this was the very best we have seen of him for some time. He was so aggressive right from the off, he just tore into Nishikori.
Djokovic got the job done comprehensively, even though he racked up break point after break point, but struggled to put them away. Otherwise it could have been a total rout of his opponent. The thing even Nishikori was playing some very good high quality stuff, but Djokovic had just found another level. This is his record-equalling eighth US Open Final and if he wins on the weekend he will equal the record of 14 Grand Slam titles that is held by Pete Sampras. Only Roger Federer and Nadal have more.
Head to Head
Djokovic leads the head to head against Del Potro 14-4. This will be their first meeting since Rome last year on the clay which Djokovic won. The Serbian has won the last three meetings between the two players and six of the last seven. They have met twice before at the US Open and Djokovic has won both of those as well.
Prediction
If Djokovic plays like he did against Nishikori then he is going to be unstoppable. If you needed proof about him being back to his best then that was it. His defence was magnificent and kept pounding the baseline of Nishikori.
As good as Del Potro has played this tournament, and he has been going well, even he could find Djokovic too much to handle once again.
For our Juan Martin del Potro v Novak Djokovic prediction we are looking at the Serbian to do it in four.
