Rafael Nadal beat world number one Novak Djokovic in a pulsating
four-set final to claim his second US Open title in New York.
The Spaniard, 27, held on magnificently in the third set to go on and
win a gripping contest 6-2 3-6 6-4 6-1 in three hours and 21 minutes.
One incredible 54-shot rally - the
longest in the tournament by 20 shots - summed up a battle that thrilled the
23,000 spectators in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
I have to start off by
congratulating Nadal for the manner in which he has comeback this year, when he
won all those clay court tournaments at the start of the year it wasn’t that surprising
and it was the same when he won the French Open, but after he lost at Wimbledon
and appeared injured again you did fear that he could only compete on clay, but
his run on the hard courts has been amazing, culminating in last night’s win.
The first and fourth sets were quite
comfortable for Nadal, but the battles in the second and third were unbelievable,
in particular that 54 shot rally, only Nadal and Djokovic seem to be able to
produce that kind of tennis consistently when they go head to head, they really
do bring out the best in each other.
Something that has been floated around
quite a lot is whether Rafa is the greatest player of all-time, or GOAT if you
prefer, and I’m of the opinion that he is because he’s adapted his game and
beaten Federer and Djokovic, in grand slams, on their preferred surfaces where
as they haven’t come close to beating Nadal at the French.
Nadal has a much better head to
head against all his rivals, he leads Djokovic 22-15, 21-10 against Federer and
13-5 against Murray, added to all his grand slams he’s won the most master
series 1000 titles, 26, he’s won Olympic Gold and the Davis Cup, the only Nadal
hasn’t won is the World Tour finals and as they’ll be played on a hard court
you wouldn’t bet against him winning that as well.
Another question was can he catch
Rogers record of 17, again I think he can, providing he stays injury free of
course, I think he’ll win at least 10 French Open titles, that would take him
to at least 15 and if he keeps up his hard court form then he could easily win
the US and Australian Opens again.
While that’s all conjecture, one
thing is certain it’s great to see the best in the world playing at their best
on the biggest stage, any sports fan will tell you there’s nothing better than watching
that.
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