Rafael Nadal won his first U.S. Open title to complete a
career Grand Slam, beating Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 Monday in a match
interrupted by a thunderstorm a day after it was postponed by rain.
It's Nadal's third consecutive major championship and ninth
overall.
He is the seventh man in tennis history with at least one
title from each Grand Slam tournament.
"I think for the first time in my career I played a
very, very good match in this tournament," Nadal said. "That's my
feeling. I played my best match in the U.S. Open out there at the most
important moment."
Rain pushed the men's final from Sunday to Monday for the
third consecutive year, and play was interrupted for nearly two hours during
the second set. When they resumed, Djokovic took that set, the only one Nadal
lost in the tournament.
But the No. 1-ranked Spaniard quickly took a lead in the
third set and never let it go.
"He took it away," Djokovic said, "and he
never gave me a chance to go back."
Once seen as Roger Federer's nemesis, the 24-year-old Nadal
now has made his own greatness quite clear.
"He has the capabilities already now to become the best
player ever," Djokovic said. "I think he's playing the best tennis
that I've ever seen him play on hard courts. He has improved his serve
drastically - the speed, the accuracy. And, of course, his baseline (game) is
as good as ever."
Nadal stretched his Grand Slam winning streak to 21 matches
by adding the U.S. Open to his titles at the French Open in June, then
Wimbledon in July. No man had won those three tournaments in the same year
since Rod Laver won a true Grand Slam in 1969. Now Nadal heads to the
Australian Open in January with a chance to claim a "Rafa Slam" of
four consecutive major championships - something that also hasn't been done
since Laver.
No. 3 Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion, made
Nadal earn it. The Serb played superbly for long stretches, showing off the
terrific returning, retrieving and big forehand he used to knock off 16-time
Grand Slam champion Federer in Saturday's semifinals.
Coming out of the rain delay with Djokovic serving at 4-4,
30-30 in the second set, both players clearly benefited from a bit of rest.
Fresh of body and clear of mind, and with conditions perfect for tennis - calm
and cool, the temperature in the 70s - they were superb, engaging in 10-, 15-,
20-stroke points that drew standing ovations and camera flashes from the
stands, no matter who hit the winner.
And there were winners aplenty at both ends, as well as
point-extending defense, shoes squeaking as they scurried around the court.
Djokovic claimed the second set by breaking Nadal in the
final game, getting back a deep return off a 122 mph serve. Nadal was on his
heels - a rare sight, indeed - and slapped a forehand into the net. That gave
Djokovic three breaks in a span of 10 service games, against a player who was
broken twice the first 92 times he served.
It would be the only set lost of 22 played by Nadal in New
York this year, as he came oh-so-close to being the first man in a half-century
to win this tournament without dropping a set.
Nadal was back to his relentless best in the third and
fourth, hitting shots so well that Djokovic was moved to applaud on occasion.
Nadal broke for 2-1 leads in each of those last two sets, and got to match
point by sprinting to reach a drop shot and whipping a forehand that landed
right on the baseline.
Djokovic hit a forehand wide to end it, and Nadal fell
backward onto the court with a shout. He rolled onto his stomach, his chest
heaving - finally the champion in New York after losing in the semifinals the
last two years.
Now he's the first left-hander to win the U.S. Open since
John McEnroe in 1984, and the first Spaniard since Manuel Orantes in 1975.
Nadal first burst onto the scene as the so-called King of
Clay, compiling a record 81-match winning streak on that surface and starting
his French Open career undefeated from 31 matches. His five titles at Roland
Garros have earned him accolades as the best clay-court player in history, but
now he has become so much more.
He won on the grass at Wimbledon in 2007, edging Federer 9-7
in the fifth set as darkness descended, then again this year. He won on the
hard courts at the Australian Open in 2009, again besting Federer in five sets.
All that was left was the U.S. Open. After complaining of
fatigue in 2008, coming off his gold medal from the Beijing Olympics, then
dealing with bad knees and a torn abdominal muscle in 2009, he set out to make
this trip to Flushing Meadows different.
He curtailed his schedule a bit in the spring, to save some
wear and tear. He took time off after Wimbledon, getting treatment on his knees
and skipping the Davis Cup quarterfinals. And, constantly seeking ways to
improve, he says he decided a couple of days before the start of the U.S. Open
to tweak the way he holds his racket to serve.
That added zip to his serves, now regularly faster than 130
mph (210 kph), which helps him earn some easy points - important given the way
he hustles so much and hits so hard, those booming forehands looking like
uppercuts.
Nadal only had one hiccup all tournament: Perhaps bothered
by some pro-Djokovic supporters yelling between serves - earning an
admonishment from the chair umpire - Nadal fell behind 3-1 in the second set
Monday by making four mistakes, including a double-fault, to get broken at
love.
When Nadal pushed a backhand long to close a 19-shot point,
Djokovic screamed, "Come on!" It was part of a run o 11 consecutive
points for Djokovic, who went ahead 4-1.
As quickly as Nadal lost his way, however, he gathered
himself, his strokes gaining steam, his footwork as good as ever. A violent
backhand on a 23-stroke exchange allowed Nadal to break back, and he held to
4-4.
While Djokovic would take that set, Nadal eventually would
prove too tough, too swift and too good - even at the U.S. Open.
"Nadal ... is just proving each day, each year, that
he's getting better. That's what's so frustrating, a little bit. He's getting
better each time you play him," Djokovic said. "He's so mentally
strong and dedicated to this sport. He has all the capabilities, everything he
needs, in order to be the biggest ever."
