Filed under: Tennis, Wimbledon, Australian Open, US Open, French Open
They thrilled the crowd with one of the most mesmerising displays of tennis a Grand Slam final has ever seen and then they tugged on their heart-strings afterwards by paying tribute to the memory of the 9/11 victims: it is safe to say New York won't forget Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal's epic tussle for some while.Djokovic justified his new status as the world's number one by defeating the reigning champion in four sets to lift the US Open for the first time and become only the sixth player to have won three Grand Slam tournaments in a single year.
2011 belongs to the Serb, who was also victorious in Australia and Wimbledon, with Nadal winning the French Open. Djokovic has truly taken tennis to a new level: so much so that the previously invincible Nadal has now been beaten by him six times in a row.
But that was not why this final was so memorable; it was the sheer quality of the tennis that captured the imagination.
At times it was a brutal slug-fest but more often than not the strokeplay was breathtakingly astonishing. The rallies were relentless and on occasion continued for upwards of 30 strokes, with shots that appeared to be guaranteed winners somehow returned again and again.
And there were so many breaks of service, the result of the iron wills possessed by both men...
Even the ending was an eye-opener with Djokovic, having just been blown away in a tie-breaker to lose the third set when he had failed to serve for the tournament, lying prone on the court receiving vigorous treatment to a back problem.
The momentum was suddenly with Nadal yet somehow Djokovic recovered to win the next set and therefore the match with the loss of just one game. Extraordinary.
Djokovic's 6-2 6-4 6-7 (3/7) 6-1 victory also meant he has won 64 of his 66 matches in 2011.
"I am not invincible," he said modestly afterwards. "I just think a positive attitude keeps you on top of your game when you go on court.
"Of course I want to win more majors and prove things to myself. It would be unbelievable to complete the Grand Slam. I need to win the French Open, but I think it will take time."
A year ago the 24-year-old was on a par with Andy Murray - a top four player but not in Nadal's league. Now he is the undisputed number one and the Scot is exactly where he was before.
"Last year I made the final but I could have easily lost in the first round," Djokovic added. "I overcame that. I needed those tough matches to get confidence and the belief that I could win the majors.
"In the previous years, I hadn't changed my game in any big way and my strokes were still the same and was hitting the shots I wanted to hit.
"But I had difficulties approaching semi-finals and finals. I would wait for players to make mistakes. I didn't have the positive attitude. That has changed now - the 2010 US Open was the turning point.
"I guess it just clicked in my head. It's just that I'm hitting the shots that I maybe wasn't hitting in the last two, three years now. I'm going for it."
Nadal had to admit he had been beaten by an extraordinary opponent in an extraordinary year.
"I'm disappointed but this guy is doing unbelievable things so congratulations Novak and your team," he said. "What you did this year is probably impossible to repeat.
"I try my best in every moment, these kind of matches are very difficult, it brings your body to the limit. I ran to every ball and fought until the last ball."
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Source: http://www.fanhouse.co.uk/2011/09/13/us-open-novak-djokovics-amazing-2011-propels-him-to-legend-sta/
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