US Open: A retrospective of Novak Djokovic's final heartbreaks at Flushing Meadows
Defending champion and top seed Novak Djokovic arrives at the 2019 US Open following a semifinal showing at the Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to eventual champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinal.
Djokovic is one of seven players to have won three titles at the US Open, the others being the trio of Roger Federer, Sampras and Jimmy Connors with five apiece, and John McEnroe (4), Ivan Lendl (3) and Rafael Nadal (3).
The Serb, along with Federer, are the only two players in the Open Era to rack up at least 60 match wins at each of the four majors.
Since a third round exit to Spain's Fernando Verdasco on his US Open debut in 2005 and another ouster in the same round the next year, Djokovic has reached at least the semifinals in each of his last 11 appearances at Flushing Meadows (he did not participate in 2017).
With 69 match wins at the US Open, Djokovic is sixth all-time in the list of most match wins at the last Grand Slam event of the year. With a run to his 12th consecutive semifinal, the Serb would overtake Lendl to take fourth spot in the list, behind Connors, Federer and Agassi.
The Serb has reached the title round at Flushing Meadows on eight occasions, which is joint best along with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras.
But the three-time champion (2011, 2015, 2018) has never successfully defended his title at the last Grand Slam of the year. In fact, Roger Federer's triumph in 2008 was the last time a player successfully defended his US Open title.
Along with Lendl, Djokovic has fallen short in the US Open final on no fewer than 5 occasions. Let us re-live the Serb's 5 US Open final heartbreaks.
#1 2007: Lost to Federer 6-7(4) 6-7(2) 4-6
First-time Grand Slam finalist Djokovic faced three-time defending champion Roger Federer in the 2007 US Open final.
The match started brightly for the young Serb as Federer lost serve in the 11th game of the first set and Djokovic had three consecutive set points on serve.
But Federer saved them all, and then a further two, and proceeded to take the set in the ensuing tiebreak to take a one-set lead.
In a near-repeat of the first set, Djokovic had two more set points which he couldn't convert as Federer took the second set on another tiebreak to take a two-set lead and a stranglehold on the match.
It was Federer's 13th tiebreak win in a Grand Slam final, in 15 attempts.
As Djokovic faded away in the third, Federer strode across the finish line to become the first player in the Open Era to win four successive US Open titles.