A new legend in tennis Djokovic

It was mayhem at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. It was also 5-2, 15-0 in the fourth set and Novak Djokovic was serving for the match. Three points away from the US Open championship.

Three points away from his 10th Grand Slam title. If only life was so easy. First, the man across the tape, Roger Federer, wasn’t willing to just roll over and die.

And second, the other phantom across the net — the 23,000-plus strong crowd in the biggest tennis arena in the world — wouldn’t even let Djokovic serve.

They hooted and howled just as they had for the last three hours in a manner that even Federer didn’t ‘consider normal’. They were simply refusing to let their man go down quietly.

So Federer didn’t. Amid an explosion of noise, Federer pumped his fist as Djokovic missed his backhand down the line. 15-all. Stirred, Djokovic bounced the ball on the baseline until the stands stopped moving.

But he couldn’t stop the Swiss from doing the same. Federer, like he had done all tournament long, employed his new service return — a sneak up to the service-line to greet a second serve. And before Djokovic could know what slapped him, the crowd favourite was already putting away his volley at the net. 15-30.