 |
| Novak Djokovic sealed his first US Open title and fourth Grand Slam with victory over Rafael Nadal |
This is a man who has now won 64 out of 66 matches in 2011, has beaten the great Rafael Nadal six times in a row and scooped three of the year's four majors.
The US Open was added to his burgeoning collection after a battle of epic proportions with Nadal and the familiar outcome of the Serbian's victory.
Can there be any more consistent performers in sport right now than Djokovic? Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo maybe, Usain Bolt perhaps.
This final was one of the highest quality from both players, but Djokovic's play in the opening two sets was some of the best tennis arguably ever seen.
His return of serve - deep and fast - is perhaps the best of all-time and offers almost as much advantage as a serve.
Nadal contributed to his first set downfall by being too passive and dropping the ball too short, but Djokovic was simply stunning, giving the Spaniard a minimum of chances on his ultra-dangerous forehand and punishing Nadal time and time again.
Nadal would come out firing and break Djokovic at the beginning of the second set but then came the game which would sum up this final.
 |
| Nadal battled hard in the first two sets but had no answer for Djokovic's quality |
He was quickly broken again and the match - which had by now become a war of attrition - was firmly in Djokovic's hands.
With the quality of the Serbian's returning, every service game for Nadal became a war and that must have been mentally draining for the Spaniard. He received very few cheap points on serve and with Djokovic's attacking and defensive wings so strong, it seemed there would be no way back.
Nadal did break back but Djokovic immediately returned the favour and took the set 6-4, leaving Nadal's gameplan in ruins.
However, if there is one thing you can take for granted when Nadal is around, it is that he will never give up. He will fight for every point. He will push his opponents to the heights of their game if they are to beat him.
Djokovic was outhitting and outwitting him and had played the perfect two sets, but he knew he couldn't take anything for granted. This is Rafael Nadal, sport's ultimate warrior.
He may have made too many unforced errors in the first two sets, but Nadal is always dangerous, a point he was about to prove.
Djokovic broke him early in the third set but Nadal kept his belief, showing the great fight and resolve which is always a characteristic of his, and broke back, a pattern which punctuated the match. The pair then immediately traded breaks again, with the quality of tennis now reaching stratospheric levels.
 |
| Nadal upped his game to set the final alight |
His problem was that the moment he raised his level, Djokovic raised his even further.
However, as the third set progressed, it became clear the Serbian was struggling with tiredness and a back trouble, legacies of his two-set comeback against Roger Federer in the semi-final. His first serve percentage plummeted and some of the accuracy of his groundstrokes went down, but the two players still managed to produce some of the best tennis you could ever wish to see.
Djokovic somehow found extra energy from somewhere to break serve and lead 6-5, meaning he was serving for the championship.
After some stunning and miraculous rallies though, Nadal denied him and immediately broke back to force the tiebreak. The match was fast becoming a classic and it had the feel of a marathon despite being in just the third set.
The match seemed to hinge on the tiebreak, with Djokovic now flagging and Nadal flying.
The Spaniard was now winning the majority of the long rallies and he took the tiebreak 7-3. This was fast becoming arguably one of the best matches of all-time and the two-set comeback for Nadal appeared a formality. All aspects of his game were now firing while Djokovic's standard was beginning to tail off, but in a match full of unpredictability, perhaps we should have expected the unexpected to follow.
And so it did.
Djokovic was struggling with his back while Nadal was seemingly as fresh as a daisy and sucking the life out of his opponent with every point. It is extremely difficult to beat Nadal over five sets and Djokovic was finding that out here.
 |
| Djokovic's back injury appeared to hamper his chances of winning |
The Serbian returned to the court with renewed energy and attacking intent, and broke Nadal immediately after missing four break point opportunities.
Djokovic has become a warrior in the last year or two and he was showing all of those qualities now.
He could see the finish line and he could see the history books. That was seemingly enough to urge him on and forget his ailments.
Djokovic was comfortable on serve for the first time in a long time and it was now Nadal's fitness fading slightly, while the Spaniard was again dropping the ball short and lacking ideas. Perhaps he had been lulled into a false sense of security by Djokovic's apparent injury or perhaps it was just the brutality of the match catching up with him.
Nadal was then broken to love to hand Djokovic a double break and there was no way he was going to let this opportunity slip.
He hammered a forehand home on championship point to seal an incredible victory, one which seemed so unlikely after the hammer blow of losing the third set.
 |
| Djokovic produced some stunning tennis to seal the championship |
If Andy Murray was watching from home, he will have realised beyond any doubt that his task to win a Grand Slam is now a mammoth one.
If not even Nadal, playing at very close to his maximum, can beat Djokovic, then who can?
The Serbian has incredible heart and never loses belief and it is this as much as anything which has seen him have such an unbelievable year.
He always finds a way to win, as his did in the semi-final despite facing two match points against Federer, and Nadal and co must be wondering what they can do to beat him.
Djokovic is just the sixth man in the Open era to win three of the four majors in a calendar year, with adversaries Federer and Nadal also achieving the feat in their careers.
This is a true golden era for men's tennis, and it was taken to new heights in this final.
Federer and Nadal are already legends of the game but Djokovic's name will surely be added to that list in the coming years. He has simply got it all and he could threaten the number of Grand Slams won by those two greats if he continues in this vain.
What is clear now is that Djokovic and Nadal are by far the best two players in the world and their rivalry should only just be beginning. If this final is anything to go by, we are in for an exciting few years.
 |
| Nadal was, as ever, very gracious in defeat |
Nadal must be given huge credit for his constant battling qualities, especially in the third set with his ripping forehands, never-say-die attitude and dictation of play.
He will be devastated by the loss but will recover to have many more great battles with Djokovic in the future.
Having lost six out of six to the Serbian this year, though, there is a worry Djokovic may do to Nadal what Nadal has done for so long to Federer and dominate him.
Nadal is too good for everyone but Djokovic now and so he must find a gameplan specifically for when he plays Djokovic to try and halt the trend.
 |
| Djokovic has been in inspired form for a year now |
The biggest problem he will face is trying to replicate this year, because it will be simply impossible for him to repeat the success he has had.
Djokovic is taking men's tennis to new heights but he knows his competitors, particularly Nadal, will not accept another year from him like this.
Nadal is closer to Djokovic now than he was at Wimbledon and should feel optimistic that he can wrestle a Grand Slam or two away from the Serbian next year.
This US Open final was a relentless battle between two ultimate sportsmen and makes the short-term future of the men's game look very bright indeed.
More of the same please.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 |
| Sam Stosur sealed her first Grand Slam victory after thrashing Serena Williams in a controversial final |
Williams was undoubtedly in the wrong after the verbal volleys she handed to umpire Eva Asderaki and she certainly brought the game into disrepute.
Talk of banning her from future Grand Slam tournaments was over-the-top to say the least and a lot of what she said was heat of the moment, but she has a duty to behave honourably and with class on the tennis court as youngsters around the world must look up to her.
As for Stosur, hopefully this will be the start of something very special for the Australian.
She has been on the verge of making it big-time for a number of years now and this victory should lead her to bigger and better things.
Stosur outhit Williams - no mean feat - throughout the match and kept her cool while the vociferous crowd rallied against the umpire and behind Williams, and this win should give her so much belief to build on the success.
She is a brilliant and deserving champion and it would give many people a lot of pleasure to see her have a period of sustained success.
The story of this match may have all been about Serena but on the other side of the net there was a woman making her overdue mark on the biggest stage.
Expect to see a lot more of Stosur in the coming months and years.
No comments:
Post a Comment