Djokovic Wins Third Grand Slam, Hingis Earns Doubles Title
Published on September 14 2015 6:35 am
Last Updated on September 14 2015 6:36 am
Novak Djokovic won his third Grand Slam singles title of the year Sunday night, defeating Roger Federer 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Djokovic, thus, wins three of the year's four majors for the second time in five years -- something Federer did in his prime three times in four years.
After a three-hour rain delay turned this into a classic, rollicking US Open night match, the No. 1 seed pushed his major total to 10, tying him with Bill Tilden for seventh all-time, only one behind Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver.
It can be argued that Djokovic -- 27-1 in Grand Slam singles matches this year, one better than Serena Williams' 26-1 -- has had a more successful season.
To put his year in context, consider that Djokovic is only the third man in the Open era to reach all four major finals, joining Federer and Laver.
Martina Hingis earned her 11th Grand Slam women's doubles title and her second at the US Open on Sunday.
At 34 years old and already a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, Hingis paired with Sania Mirza of India to beat Casey Dellacqua of Australia and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-3 in the final.
The title comes 19 years after Hingis' first major in doubles, at Wimbledon, and 17 years after the Swiss star won her other doubles championship at Flushing Meadows.
With Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi watching intently, Flavia Pennetta became the second Italian woman to win a Grand Slam title, edging Fed Cup teammate Roberta Vinci 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Saturday in the US Open final.
The unseeded Vinci couldn't capitalize on the momentum that came from a stunning semifinal upset of No. 1 seed Serena Williams on Friday, the day she called the best of her life.
Thus the 26th-seeded Pennetta captured her first major championship, at Arthur Ashe Stadium, becoming the oldest first-time Grand Slam champion ever. Instead of the single-season Slam that so many envisioned for Williams, it was another 33-year-old holding the sterling silver trophy afterward.
