2013 US Open: Rafael Nadal adds to his growing legend with second US Open crown

Rafael Nadal poses with the US Open champions trophy along with Novak Djokovic who holds the runner-up shield (Getty Images)

Perhaps the folks at Nike know something that we do not.

The stylish grey shirt of Rafael Nadal has 16 shiny dots on the back. We do know now that the indefatigable Spanish warrior, with the Queen of Spain in attendance, marched inexorably to eclipse Novak Djokovic and clinch his 13th Grand Slam title at the US Open in New York. Djokovic threatened briefly during the middle of the match, but Nadal turned the tide to emerge victorious 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 after 3 hours and 24 minutes inside the Arthur Ashe stadium court.

At 30-30 in the first game of this promising finale, it was already apparent that the match would prove to be tight as nails and take a mighty effort from both players. An ace from Djokovic sealed the first game; a brilliant forehand return winner from the Serbian followed by a backhand into the net from the Spaniard took the second game to deuce. Nadal though, took the next two points to hold for 1-1.

Just in the third game, with the air filled with palpable tension, Djokovic made consecutive errors to offer the first break point to Nadal. The Serbian was let off on that one, but he offered a second when he sank a forehand into the net. Nadal unleashed a forehand loaded with topspin and Djokovic responded with a loopy forehand to mid-court, which the Spaniard put away to seal the break.

Nadal dumped a backhand in the net to fall to 0-30, but Djokovic’s forehand let him down thrice in a row. Nadal held serve to consolidate his advantage at 3-1. In the seventh game, Djokovic failed to put away an overhead and Nadal imposed himself quickly after that.

At 0-40 down, Djokovic struck a powerful forehand crosscourt that wasn’t called. The Spaniard challenged to discover that it was out and earned the second break of the set. Nadal followed up a big serve to the net to earn his first set point with a forehand winner.

Djokovic then sent a forehand long to help his opponent bag the opening set in 42 minutes. The differential was one of the telling statistics of the first set – Djokovic was a (-8) [6 winners -14 errors] while Nadal had a (+3) [7-4)].

Djokovic earned his first break points of the match at 15-40 in the second game of the second set, but Nadal spun his way out of trouble to keep it even at 1-1. The Serbian was clearly suffering from a hangover – the strain of the five set ordeal against Stanislas Wawrinka had clearly not worn off for Djokovic.

Nadal’s ability to transition from defence to offence was amply evident in the fourth game – Nadal using his backhand slice on the run to keep Djokovic engaged before nailing him with a powerful short-angled winner to squeeze out another easy service game at 2-2.

A brilliant backhand drop volley by Djokovic earned him a third break point. And it took a mighty effort to make it stick. The Serbian came out on the right side of a monstrous 54 shot rally to break Nadal and take a 4-2 lead.

Novak Djokovic dug in deep against Nadal, but eventually fell short (Getty Images)

But unfortunately for the Serbian, Nadal does not take a slight lying down. The repayment came immediately, with the Serbian’s faltering forehand playing accomplice to Nadal’s bothersome topspin torpedoes.

Djokovic fell to 0-40 under the onslaught and even though he saved two break points, it was all he could do before surrendering the break. An inside out forehand winner from Djokovic pushed the eighth game to deuce.

As the two men battled for that elusive edge in the second set, the game was prolonged to a fifth deuce. Eventually, Djokovic earned his fourth break point of the match. Nadal sought to end a long rally, with a drop shot on the 23rd stroke. Unfortunately, it sat up like a dolly and Djokovic thumped a backhand cross court to make it 5-3

The world No.1 survived a bit of tentativeness to find some precision and take the second set with a scorching backhand up-the-line winner that painted the line. The key to that nearly hour long set was Djokovic’s ability to do so much better on the returns – winning nearly one in two, as he took 17 of 36 points to constantly bother Nadal. The Serbian also attacked much more than his opponent, scoring 15 winners to just 7 from Nadal.

At the start of the third set, Djokovic showed off his returning skills moving quickly to his left and unleashing a vicious forehand cross court return winner to go up 0-30. Nadal then struck one long to offer three break points, but Djokovic needed only one as he struck another powerful forehand winner to clinch an early break.

Nadal forced the second game to deuce, but Djokovic got away on a backhand error from the Spaniard and an ace to hold serve at 2-0. Nadal sought to stem the tide in the third game, but Djokovic struck a couple of stinging forehand winners to earn another break point.

As the match went past the second hour, Nadal unleashed raw power to claw his way back before mixing it up with a fabulous drop shot to hold his own and stay close at 2-1. As Nadal hung tight, the match took a big momentum shift in the sixth game of the third set.

Nadal pushed Djokovic to the edge and the Serbian responded by trying to go for broke. The world No.1 made consecutive errors off both flanks to earn the break to draw level at 3-3. The air around the court was thick with the humidity of expectation and Nadal held easily to take a 4-3 lead.

After losing three games in a row, Djokovic found the range on his forehand to win the vital eighth game and stay even at 4-4. Nadal took a misstep and fell at the baseline to offer Djokovic a chance as he slipped to 0-30. The Serbian struck a forehand right on the baseline to earn three break points.

But in a mighty display of big game nerves, ‘Rafa’ showed the kind of steely nerves that inhabit his 185 cm frame to work his way back from the brink. Nadal survived three break points and two deuces to clinch a massive game and take a 5-4 lead.

Nadal won a tight ninth game in the third set which finally gave him the momentum (Getty Images)

It is impressive how Nadal forages into the minds of his opponent and starts eating away at their confidence. Djokovic, in control of the set at 3-1, was suddenly serving to stay in the set. The turn of events had obviously gotten to the Serbian.

The world No.1 made a couple of uncharacteristic errors to let Nadal get even at 30-30. Under immense pressure, Djokovic sank a forehand in the net to offer set point to Nadal. It was tennis at its brutal best and Nadal impressed again with a smoking down-the-line-winner to take a two-sets-to-one lead.

Midway through the second set, Djokovic had control of the match. In typically resilient manner, Nadal worked one point at a time to work his way back to win five of the last six games to turn adversity to opportunity. Djokovic had 17 winners to just 6 from Nadal, but he converted only 1 of 5 break point chances, whilst Nadal took 2 of 2. Those numbers themselves told a tale.

At 15-30, Djokovic had a scent of an opportunity, but he let it go again, fumbling an easy shot at the net to let it slip away. Nadal tired Djokovic again with a drop shot to exactly the same spot, only this time the Serbian found a nice angled winner to earn break point. But Nadal fought it off to hold for a 1-0 lead.

The momentum was now with Nadal with Djokovic looking a little worn out from that over four hour exertion in the semi-final. Nadal unleashed a beastly forehand to earn three break points at 0-40 in the second game. A power serve and a lucky bounce off the tape saved Djokovic momentarily, but Nadal unleashed a down-the-line forehand winner to go up 2-0.

Nadal held to 3-0, even as Djokovic started to look like a warrior on his final legs. Djokovic had lost eight of nine games at this point, but he held on to ensure it was just the one break that separated the two gladiators at 1-3 in the fourth set.

Djokovic dug himself deep into the trenches when he made a couple of forehand errors to slip to 30-30 in the sixth game.

Nadal was quickly off the mark in the final game, jumping to 30-15 with volley winners. A service winner gave the matador from Manacor two championship points. A short rally later, Djokovic sank a tired forehand into the net to give Nadal his 13th Grand Slam title and his second at Flushing Meadows. Nadal now has one more Slam title to his name than Roy Emerson, and is just one short of Pete Sampras and four shy of Roger Federer.

The key to the match was a progressive turn of events in the third set. Nadal was down a break at 1-3, from where he won eleven of the next thirteen games. While he broke Djokovic back in the sixth game, the most important twist came in the ninth game. Djokovic had three points to clinch a break and serve for the set, but the irrepressible Nadal found the weapons to hold his opponent at sway.

The numbers told a tale too – the accuracy of Nadal outdid the misplaced aggression of Djokovic. The Serbian made an impressive 46 winners to only 27 from Nadal, but the Spaniard needed only so many since Djokovic was bleeding errors. The world No.1 made an unsightly 53 unforced errors as compared to just 20 from Nadal. Djokovic managed to convert only 3 of 11 break point chances while Nadal on the other hand took 7 of 12 to dominate the Serbian in the moments that truly mattered.

The victory improved Rafa’s record against his arch rival Djokovic to 22-15 overall and a massive 13-5 in Grand Slams. Djokovic has made at least three major finals in each of the past three years, but he will have to find some renewed answers to the challenge from Nadal or risk living in his giant shadow again. The Serbian is now 6-6 in career Grand Slam finals. Like Serena Williams on Sunday, Nadal pocketed a massive $3.6 million – $2.6 million for the US Open title and a bonus of $1 million for being the Emirates Airline US Open Series champion.

Nadal is 22-0 on hard courts this season and with almost all remaining events on the calendar being on hard courts, there is no telling what he could achieve. After a debilitating injury crippled the Spaniard last year, he has come back with monstrous force. His 10th title in 11 finals, having made the final of every tournament but Wimbledon since his return underlines his stature as the best player on the ATP World Tour at the moment. The top billing should follow, sooner rather than later.