Leading, 2-1, in the third set, Djokovic started jumping on Tsitsipas’s serve for the first time in nearly an hour, pushing him back into the court and moving him from side to side. His shots started landing in spots that left Tsitsipas totally out of position once he caught up to them.
It was as though Djokovic had finally figured out that if he didn’t have the strength to swing an ax he could still use a scalpel. His serve often struggled to get to 100 miles an hour. And at the same time, the precision that had been with Tsitsipas for much of the afternoon was gone.
On the fifth break point of the game, Djokovic sent his return deep to Tsitsipas’s backhand, and Tsitsipas sent it back to the middle of the doubles alley. Djokovic had a lifeline, and five games later he had the third set. Tsitsipas called for a trainer.
Djokovic did not stop there.
The fourth set resembled target practice, a series of surgical strikes from Djokovic that resulted in so many blasts long and wide, or easy balls to the middle of the court, from Tsitsipas. A masterly Djokovic backhand drop shot from behind the baseline gave Djokovic a second service break, and a 3-0 lead. Tsitsipas had to battle just to keep the set from being embarrassing.
After two weeks and three-plus hours of tennis, there was one set to play for the championship.
Tsitsipas had been here before. He let a two-set lead slip away in the semifinals Friday against Alexander Zverev of Germany, only to recover to prevail in the fifth set. Against Djokovic, though, he could not summon the same resolve, no matter how much he tried to talk himself through it during the changeovers.
Trouble came early. Facing break point while serving at 2-1, Tsitsipas was slow to move his feet on a shot from Djokovic that nearly caught the baseline. Tsitsipas volleyed a backhand long. Roughly three hours after Djokovic served for the first set, he had a lead once more, and he was not going to give it up.
With a match and a championship within reach, there may be no player who closes as clinically as Djokovic.
