Rafael Nadal defeats Novak Djokovic to win U.S. Open

Spaniard earns his 13th Grand Slam title

Hard to believe this is the same Rafael Nadal who was at home during the U.S. Open a year ago, nursing a bad left knee.

Hard to believe this is the guy sent packing in the first round of Wimbledon in June, losing against someone ranked 135th.

Looking fit as can be, and tough as – maybe even better than – ever, the No. 2-ranked Nadal pulled away from No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 on Monday in a taut, tense U.S. Open final for his 13th Grand Slam title.

They started in sunlight and finished at nighttime, a 3-hour, 21-minute miniseries full of cliffhangers and plot twists and 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.

This was their 37th match against each other, the most between any two men in the Open era, and third head-to-head U.S. Open final in the last four years. Nadal beat Djokovic for the 2010 title, and Djokovic won their rematch in 2011. They know each other’s games so well, and play such similar hustle-to-every-ball styles, but in the end, it was Nadal who was superior. Head to head stats-       

Djokovic		Nadal
26	Age	27
44/8	2013 won/lost	53/3
3	2013 titles	9
513/131	Career won/lost	636/125
37	Career titles	59
6	Grand Slam titles	13
$51,645,610	Prize money	$56,910,697

U.S. Open champs since 2000

• 2013 — Rafael Nadal
• 2012 — Andy Murray
• 2011 — Novak Djokovic
• 2010 — Rafael Nadal
• 2009 — Juan Martin del Potro
• 2008 — Roger Federer
• 2007 — Roger Federer
• 2006 — Roger Federer
• 2005 — Roger Federer
• 2004 — Roger Federer
• 2003 — Andy Roddick
• 2002 — Pete Sampras
• 2001 — Lleyton Hewitt
• 2000 — Marat Safin