Djokovic beats Nadal to win U.S. Open

Djokovic beats Federer in epic US Open semi-final

New York: Serbia's Novak Djokovic beat Rafa Nadal of Spain 6-2 6-4 6-7 6-1 on Monday to win the final of the U.S. Open at Flushing Meadows.

Djokovic regained his composure after failing to serve out the match in the third set to seal victory after more than four hours and capture his third grand slam title of the year after winning the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

Third Set:

A see-sawing set that lasted 84 minutes was eventually decided in a tiebreaker, which Nadal won 7-3.

Both players were broken three times in the set, which featured some extraordinary rallies that captivated the center court crowd.

Djokovic snatched the early break but could not hold his advantage then he served for the match in the 12th game after breaking Nadal to lead 6-5.

He got to within two points of the championship but Nadal broke him to force a tiebreaker.

The Spaniard raced to a 5-1 lead. Djokovic pulled two back to give himself a chance but gifted it to Nadal with an error.

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Second set:

Djokovic won the second set 6-4 in 71 minutes.

Nadal led 2-0 but failed to consolidate his advantage after a titanic third day game lasted more than 17 minutes and included eight deuces.

Djokovic won that game to break back when Nadal smashed an overhead into the net, and then reeled off the next three games to lead 4-2.

Nadal, starting to look frustrated, threatened to stage a fightback when he held serve then broke Djokovic to get back to 4-4.

But Djokovic broke him straight back then safely held serve to go up two sets to love.

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First set:

Djokovic won the opening set 6-2 in 53 minutes.

Nadal led 2-0 after holding his opening serve then breaking Djokovic but the Serbian quickly seized control, winning the next six games.

Both players had difficulty holding serve but Djokovic did a better job in the windy conditions at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Nadal took the early lead on a sizzling run-around forehand winner that brushed the lines in the corner then led 2-0 when Djokovic made two straight backhand errors.

But Djokovic dominated the rest of the set. He saved three break points in the fourth game but survived with a forehand winner. He broke Nadal again with two drop shots then served out the set to love.