Novak Djokovic confirmed his status as the world's No. 1 player with a stunning victory over defending champion and World No. 2 Rafael Nadal of Spain to claim his first US Open title.
The top seed Novak Djokovic from Serbia gave a display of breathtaking quality to triumph 6-2 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 in four hours and 10 minutes to beat Rafael Nadal of Spain and to win the US Open men's final at Flushing Meadows on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday.
Djokovic outplayed Nadal to show why he really is the hottest player in the game right now. Nadal, who was bidding to win his 11th Grand Slam title, has now lost all six of his meetings with Djokovic in 2011.
Djokovic now holds the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open titles.And he becomes only the sixth man in the Open Era to win three of the four majors in the same year.
Djokovic was beaten by Nadal at the same stage 12 months ago, but he turned the tables on the Spaniard this time around - and how.
The crowd were treated to several pulsating baseline rallies in the opening stages, Nadal breaking serve for 2-0 only to surrender his advantage immediately.
Djokovic showed brilliant skill in windy conditions to save three break points for 2-2 and constructed a couple of stunning combinations to strike in game five.
The top seed was dictating the tempo and he broke again when Nadal netted a backhand under pressure before serving out the 53-minute opener to love.
Match stats
Djokovic | Nadal | |
Match time: 4hrs 10mins | ||
7 | Aces | 2 |
66% | First serves | 68% |
1 | Double faults | 3 |
55 | Winners | 32 |
51 | Errors | 37 |
65% | 1st serve win % | 52% |
44% | 2nd serve win % | 42% |
51% | Receiving pts won | 42% |
11/26 | Break points | 6/14 |
Nadal enjoyed a relatively comfortable service game to start the second set and then managed to break his opponent with a trademark forehand down the line.
No matter how hard he tried, Nadal could not find a way to get on top of the Serbian, who played at an extraordinary high-level despite windy conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
To his credit, Nadal fought back gamely to win the third set in a tiebreaker after Djokovic came within two points of wrapping up the championship on his own serve.
To his credit, Nadal fought back gamely to win the third set in a tiebreaker after Djokovic came within two points of wrapping up the championship on his own serve.
After consolidating his lead by holding his next two service games, he broke Nadal's serve again, for the 11th time in the match, the served out victory, collapsing on the court in celebration after smashing a winner past his opponent.
Djokovic is the sixth man in history to win three Grand Slam titles in a year after Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, Mats Wilander, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.