He and Djokovic started in sunlight and finished at night, a three-hour, 21-minute miniseries of cliffhangers and plot twists with a pair of protagonists who inspired standing ovations in the middle of games.
There was no quit in either of them, during points that lasted 15, 25, even more than 50 strokes. Those rallies went so long, rarely over when they appeared to be, and spectators often shouted out during the course of play, prompting Nadal to complain to the chair umpire.
"It's what we do when we play against each other, always pushing each other to the limit," Djokovic said. "That's the beauty of our matches and our rivalry."
This was their 37th match against each other, the most between any two men in the Open era, and Nadal has won 22. It also was their third head-to-head US Open final in the past four years. Nadal beat Djokovic for the 2010 title, and Djokovic won their rematch in 2011.
They know each other's games so well, but in the end, it was Nadal who was superior.
"He was too good. He definitely deserved to win this match today and this trophy," Djokovic said.
Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in January, will hold on to his No 1 ranking for the time being. But it's clear to everyone who the top player in tennis is at the moment.
Nadal is 60-3 in 2013 with 10 titles, including the French Open, which made him the first man with at least one Grand Slam trophy in nine consecutive seasons. The 27-year-old Spaniard's total of 13 major championships ranks third in the history of men's tennis, behind only Roger Federer's 17 and Pete Sampras' 14.
【It is lucky 13 for bullish Nadal】相关文章:
★ Expats fuel demand for domestic helpers
★ Inspectors eye rules for family planning
★ Hu vows to work with Pyongyang
★ Shooting brings back gun debate
★ Penn State hit with $60m penalty over sex abuse case
★ Ruling boosts support for Obama healthcare reform
★ Bookstores fight back with novel business ideas
★ Syrian FM urges foreign journalists to respect rules
最新
2020-08-21
2020-08-20
2020-08-19
2020-08-06
2020-08-05
2020-08-05