Roger Alton Roger Alton

Clashes of the titans

Plus: Smaller teams to watch out for at the Rugby World Cup

issue 19 September 2015

A thumping physical confrontation testing mind, muscle and sinew to the ultimate degree, and from which there could only be one winner. No, not the upcoming Rugby World Cup but the breathtaking confrontation between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the US Open final. Rain delays meant that for British audiences it didn’t start till the small hours, and only we dedicated insomniacs could catch it. A pity, because it was one of the most bruising and thrilling of their 42 battles, stretching back over eight years. It even had a garnish of audience bad behaviour —what else do you expect from the Yanks? — which Novak acknowledged with his characteristic amazing grace.

The score between these two great heroes is 21 matches each: has there ever been an individual sporting rivalry to touch it? In the end Federer won just two points fewer than the Serb though Djokovic’s superiority (he won by three sets to one) felt just a bit more than that as the match unfurled.

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