U.S. Open 2011 Semis: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal To Meet In Finals

Seed-wise, if 28th-seeded Serena Williams defeated ninth-seed Samantha Stosur in Sunday’s U.S. Open Women’s Final, that would be considered an upset. Yet, when it really comes down to it, Williams has proven that she is anything but an underdog.

Williams, in her fifth career U.S. Open Final, will look to add her 14th overall major title and fourth U.S. Open crown to her collection when she faces Stosur at 4 p.m. EDT.

While Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic battled it out in a lengthy five-set match on Saturday morning at the US Open, Rafael Nadal made quick work of his opponent in the evening matchup, downing Andy Murray in four sets. Nadal had little trouble with Murray, save for a third-set slip-up that simply prolonged the inevitable.

Nadal, the No. 2 seed, took the first set, 6-4, in a sign of things to come. In the second, he was even better in the second set, cruising to a 6-2 win and taking complete control.

Novak Djokovic will face the winner of the Andy Murray-Rafael Nadal match in the 2011 U.S. Open Men’s Final on Monday after defeating Roger Federer in a five-set classic. The five-time tournament champion, Federer, won the first two sets and appeared to be on his way to another final. However, Djokovic won the following two sets and came from a break down to win the final set 7-5, eventually winning the match 6-7, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

The crowd was behind Djokovic during the third and fourth sets - everyone wants five sets - but was very, very vocally behind Federer for most of the fifth set. Djokovic, visibly upset by this, began taunting the crowd. Because the U.S. Open takes place in New York City, the crowd actually enjoyed this and began to get behind him again because of his taunting.

Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are putting on quite the show during their semifinal match at the 2011 U.S. Open. Not long after an impressive match-opening tie-breaker, Djokovic was able to stay alive by taking the third set with a 6-3 score over Federer.

Djokovic battled back to win the third set after falling behind 7-6, 6-4 in the early stages of the match. It wasn’t exactly a close match, though, and it might have been because -- as was the case last year -- Federer began looking ahead to the finals after taking the early lead. Djokovic had other plans however, obviously.

The 2011 U.S. Open is finally underway after an early rain-delay. Luckily for the fans, however, the rain was unable to dampen the first set between Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic as it ended in a 7-6 (9-7 tie-breaker) in favor of Federer to give the Swiss tennis player the early lead.

Neither Federer or Djokovic brought their best for Saturday morning’s match -- in fact television commentator and tennis legend John McEnroe mentioned they each brought their ‘B’ game -- but the drama in the tiebreak made up for any issue spectators might have taken with the quality of play on the court.

Thanks to a rain delay Wednesday, tennis fans get a full day of men’s and women’s semifinals Saturday at the 2011 U.S. Open. Top-seed Novak Djokovic takes on 3-seed Roger Federer, holder of 16 Grand Slam titles. Djokovic should be the favorite, coming off wins in the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier this year. The 30-year-old Federer would further solidify his status as arguably the greatest male tennis player of all time if he can beat Djokovic and add to his record 23 Grand Slam finals appearances. The winner will face off Monday in the men’s final against the winner between No. 2 Rafael Nadal and No. 4 Andy Murray.

The biggest match of the day is arguably on the women’s side of the tournament, with 1-seed Caroline Wozniacki taking on No. 28 Serena Williams. Williams received a strangely low seed for the tournament after sitting out 11 months with a foot injury, but has been considered a favorite from the beginning. The 21-year-old Wozniacki is seeking the first Grand Slam title in her young career. Both players have cruised to the semifinals, with just one dropped set between the two of them. Whoever wins has to be considered the prohibitive favorite against either Angelique Kerber or No. 9 Samantha Stosur in the other women’s semifinals.