You might notice the unorthodox string pattern of Novak. He switched to this string pattern at the beginning of 2018, more on that here.

What might stand out to some is the high static weight and high swingweight of both players, something you don’t see younger players using, and is what costs them the consistency needed to win big tournaments. In fact, among the last 8 players, the only one who comes close to Djokovic and Del Potro is Cilic with around 350 g, followed by Nadal and so on. We have all heard that the US Open courts are getting slower every year, meaning it’s harder and harder to hit through the court and humid and sticky conditions also don’t help. Conditions like this reward heavy rackets and long strokes, because the players have more time to set up for the shot etc. Read more about why in an ideal world more weight is better here and here. It’s also no surprise to me, that Dominic Thiem had the best result at the US Open, outside of the Roland Garros, with his big takeback and long strokes. Djokovic and Del Potro both fit in this category of course, but they each have their own advantages besides the high weight and SW, that comes from the racket specs.

Del Potro

1. The biggest difference is of course the forehand. Del Potro uses (almost) a continental grip on the forehand, and his high MGR/I of 21 and a very head light racket are perfect for this grip and a straight arm forehand,
2. The head light balance also helps him on his serve, which is, in my opinion, better than Djokovic’s,
3. Unfortunately, all these things don’t help him on his two-handed backhand. Playing a 2 handed backhand with this kind of a racket feels like you are pushing the ball, and that’s is what Del Potro mostly does on the backhand side. But despite that, these specs give him good depth control and as long as he can keep the ball deep with the backhand, Djokovic will not be able to attack him good enough on this slow court. These specs are also good for slicing the ball, which Del Potro often does also.

Djokovic

1. His racket is specifically set up for the 2 handed backhands (high swingweight and less head light than Del Potro). It could be made even better for the backhand, but than he would sacrifice too much on his forehand and serve (think about Andy Murray),
2. His forehand is not so effective and can’t finish the points off so quickly as Del Potro can, but when he has got time, he can take control of the point with angles and spins from the forehand. He uses a more closed grip and more polarized racket, which both make hitting spiny shots easier.
3. Because of the higher swingweight, polarization and less head light balance, Djokovic can utilize spin more, and move Del Potro around the court more

Taking all this into account, we might say that the match will be straight forward for Djokovic. Just keep Del Potro honest with the backhand exchanges and the US Open is his for the taking right? Well like mentioned, Del Potro can’t really dictate or finish the points with the backhand but can keep the ball deep in the court to stay in those points. What Djokovic should really be trying to do is move Del Potro around utilizing angles and spins from both sides. What is clear to me is that Djokovic will have to work for the points harder than Del Potro, but is it going to be enough, or will Djokovic flutter under the weight of Del Potro’s serves and forehands?

I won’t predict the outcome of the match based off this analysis, as there are many other factors, but I encourage you to spot the characteristics of their games that I extrapolated here from their racket specs.