New York: Rafa Nadal sealed his place among the tennis greats on Monday, beating Novak Djokovic to win the U.S. Open and complete his collection of grand slam titles. With eight grand slams already under his belt before this tournament began, the Spaniard was already assured a spot in the sport's elite, but conquering New York elevated him to a whole new level and left no doubts about who is the number one player in the world. Nadal overcame the distraction of a two-hour relay delay and losing his first set of the tournament to beat the brave but ultimately outclassed Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 after three hours and 43 minutes of unrelenting tension at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Djokovic, who had beaten Roger Federer in an exhausting five-set semi-final on Saturday, expelled any doubts about his fighting qualities with a courageous performance, fending off an astonishing 20 break points during the course of the match, but the pressure eventually wore him down. After losing the second set on a sloppy service game, Nadal ran away with the last two -- clinching the victory when Djokovic hit a forehand wide -- and collapsed on court as the enormity of his achievement sank in. Nadal had already won the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon singles titles and by adding the U.S. Open he joined Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi and Roger Federer as the only men to win the four majors. At 24, he was the third youngest to achieve the feat and his best may be still to come. Nadal became the first man since Laver in 1969 to win the French Open, Wimbledon and U.S. Open in the same year and he now has the chance to hold all four concurrently if he can add the Australian Open in January. With nine grand slam titles in total -- five French Opens, two Wimbledon, one Australian Open and now one U.S. Open, he climbed to seventh place on the all-time list and Federer's record of 16 could be within his reach if he stays healthy. The U.S. Open, played on hardcourt, had always been Nadal's biggest hurdle because of the wear and tear it puts on his troublesome knees. But he arrived in New York this year, fresher than ever and armed with a new and improved serve that enabled him to sail through his opening matches without fuss. Djokovic has always been at his best on hardcourts. He made the final at Flushing Meadows in 2007, losing to Federer, then won the Australian Open the following season. He fought off two match points to beat Federer in the semi-finals on Saturday and got a lucky break when rain washed out Sunday's final, giving him an extra day to recharge his batteries. He got another lucky break when the final was halted after a thunderstorm hit midway through the second set but it was never going to be enough against a man with destiny in his sights.
New York: Kim Clijsters won her second consecutive US Open championship and third overall on Saturday, easily beating Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1 in a final that lasted 59 minutes and lacked any drama.Clijsters is the first woman since Venus Williams in 2000-01 to win the title in Flushing Meadows two years in a row. And the Belgian's US Open winning streak is actually up to 21 matches because she also won the 2005 title. She missed the tournament in 2006 because of injuries, including wrist surgery, and skipped it the next two years while taking time off to get married and have a baby.
Venus advanced into the semifinals domineeringly successful the Italian Francesca Schiavone 7-6, 6-4 in just two hours. The quarterfinal match will provide Venus some extra energy. She has triumphed over Schiavone seven times before. “I like seeing my name against hers,” Venus said after the memorable quarterfinal victory.
His opponent in Thursday's quarter-finals is another Davis Cup team-mate, Fernando Verdasco, who advanced the hard way by wearing down David Ferrer 5-7 6-7(8) 6-3 6-3 7-6(4) after almost four and a half hours on court.
But a medical timeout for treatment to his right ankle turned the tide of a captivating match and the 26-year-old, immensely popular with the crowd in Louis Armstrong Stadium, unleashed a barrage of winners with his powerful forehand.
Though Venus defeated No. 18 seed Shahar Peer in straight sets during their third-round match at the U.S. Open on Sunday, the tightness of Venus' self-designed dress clearly gave her issues throughout the match. During most points the tight garment would ride up Venus' hips, revealing her undergarments for everyone to see. Before the next point began, Venus would have to pull down the sides of the dress. The routine captivated the announcers in the CBS broadcast booth, who talked about the form-fitting dress for much of the match.
American teenager Ryan Harrison wasted three match points in a fifth-set tiebreaker to lose to Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky in the men's second round.
"First rounds are always that little extra bit of nerves and a little tricky," Stosur said. "Vesnina had been playing well recently, so it certainly wasn't the easiest first round you could've got. So to battle through that, I have a chance now to get to this point. And, yeah, I've played quite well the past two matches."
"I just anticipate my umpires to know the difference between my left foot and right foot. . . . The inflexibility, if they'd just say, 'It was your left foot,' I would've stopped. . . . The truth I couldn't get her to acknowledge it - the need of common sense was unbelievable to me."