Federer Beats Djokovic in Three Sets; Will Defend Title Against Juan Martin del Potro

Roger called this the best shot he's ever hit after the match. He's not exaggerating. This was to set-up match point:

Roger Federer's semifinal win over Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-5, 7-5 -- was anything but easy, but Federer has a way of making even the most stressful matches look mechanical and routine.

There were a few exceptions to that banal routine, though: In deep trouble and running back toward his baseline, Federer made an incredible between-the-legs shot past a rushing Djokovic to bring the match to match point. Federer sealed the match with a crushing forehand down the line, and that was that. Novak Djokovic played well well and made his fair share of shots to try and break Federer, but in the end couldn't find the bounces he needed.

This sets up the final between Roger Federer and Juan Martin del Potro tomorrow at Arthur Ashe Stadium at 4 pm. Ho-hum, la de da, just Federer's sixth straight U.S. Open final. No big deal.

With the only break in the second set coming in the final game, Roger Federer takes the second set 7-5 while making some impressive plays in the set. What is probably going to be the most impressive point of the tournament, Djokovic hits five impressive shots at the net which Federer handles easily and takes the point away.

For Djokovic to have a chance in this match, he is going to need to keep his composure and have some bounces go his way -- neither of which have happened yet. To his credit, though, he is clapping a lot. A jovial loser, that Novak.

After complaining to a line judge earlier, Novak Djokovic just tossed his racquet to his feet in frustration. Replays were shown, but no penalty was assessed. Score-wise, this match is as close as it can get.

Unbelievably, the weather in Flushing has stayed nice all afternoon, and the second men's semifinal is looking like a better fight than del Potro's pounding of Nadal earlier Sunday afternoon.

Federer is up 7-6 following a tiebreak.

The first set is currently tied, 5-5. Djokovic was upset over an in/out call by the line judge (Djokovic contended that Federer's shot was out; replays clearly indicated that it was in).

The second U.S. Open men's semifinal of the day, pitting top-seeded Roger Federer against fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic, is scheduled to start at around 4:30 ET.

The winner will face Juan Martin del Potro in Monday's final.

Rafael Nadal showed some signs of a fight in the third set, but Juan Martin del Potro put him away convincingly in the third set, 6-2. del Potro will advance to the men's final to face the winner of today's Federer-Djokovic match.

Though the score of each set is identical, the match was considerably more balanced in the first set and a half. Nadal started to look tired halfway through the second set, and never managed to find an answer to del Potro's powerful strokes.

A commentator just remarked that he's "never seen Nadal beat up this badly." Indeed, he seemed to have run out of gas in the tail end of the second set, and a rested Del Potro is three games away from putting this match in the books.

The second set continued to mirror the first, as del Potro won it 6-2. Nadal is still hotly contesting just about every game, but it looks like del Potro is really reaping the rewards of his extra day of rest.

The results of the second set have mirrored that of the first set so far. Del Potro has once again jumped to a 4-1 lead.

Juan Martin del Potro's Twitter has been silent for the past few months (apparently he has better things to do), but a decent percentage of his most recent Twittering concerns his love of timepieces. In particular, he loves the idea of a digital clock that sticks out and pokes you if you touch it. If he wins today's match, he needs to make sure that he doesn't miss the final due to injury from slapping the snooze button.

Juan Martin del Potro is proving to be a much more dangerous opponent than a rain-delayed Fernando Gonzalez. Del Potro took the first set from Nadal, 6-2.

The biggest news of the day so far: not only is it not raining, it is sunny outside.

It's unclear whether Darren Rovell possesses any actual knowledge of sports, but his encyclopedic knowledge of sponsorships never fails to amaze:

So, what it'll be? Either way, I think they'll lose to the Nike guy with his own logo.

Juan Martin del Potro has won three straight games to take a solid 4-1 lead against Rafael Nadal in the first set. Both players are looking sharp, and so far the match has seen its share of lengthy volleys.

The second game was a battle, with each player forcing tiebreaks. Del Potro ultimately took the game.

Rafael Nadal has been nursing a nagging abdominal injury. He'll play through the remainder of the Open, of course, but he's withdrawing from the Davis Cup semifinals next weekend.