Rafael Nadal's 5 most memorable match wins at the US Open

#2 2010 Final: Beat Novak Djokovic 6-4 5-7 6-2 6-2

2010 US Open final

Following semifinal reverses in his previous two tournament appearances, against Andy Murray and Juan Martin Del Potro respectively, Nadal beat Russia's Mikhail Youzhny in straight sets to arrive in his first title match at the US Open. In the other semifinal, Djokovic saved two match points to thwart a first-ever Federer-Nadal Flushing Meadows meeting.

Nadal started as the favourite in his first clash with Djokovic at a hardcourt Grand Slam, having won each of the pair's four previous Grand Slam meetings and as many tournament finals.

Despite trailing Djokovic 3-7 in hard court meetings, Nadal, who arrived in the title match without dropping a set, took the opening set 6-4. The Spaniard was now one-third of the way towards emulating Neale Fraser (1960) by winning at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set.

But Djokovic was made of sterner stuff and refused to go away without a fight. The Serb made the brisker start in the second, breaking Nadal twice to take a 4-1 lead only to squander his double-break advantage. At 4-4 30-30 on Djokovic's serve, rain intervened and the final was abandoned for the day.

Djokovic returned the next day to seize back his lost momentum by holding serve for a 5-4 lead. Even as a tiebreak loomed, the Serb fired a fizzing return at the feet of Nadal in the twelfth game of the set to even the match at a set apiece.

Stung by the loss of his first set in the tournament, Nadal upped the ante and rode an early break in the third set to eke out a crucial two sets to one lead. A weary Djokovic failed to respond in kind, as Nadal broke his opponent twice in the fourth set to close out a hard-fought 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 win for his first Flushing Meadows title.

In the process, Nadal emulated Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, and Roger Federer as the only men in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slams and became the first player since Laver to win the French, Wimbledon and US Open titles in the same calendar year.