Rafael Nadal, the Spanish left-hander became the seventh man to complete the Grand Slam, joining Roger Federer, Andre Agassi, Roy Emerson, Rod Laver, Don Budge and Fred Perry in having won the US Open defeating Serbia’s Novak Djokovic on 13.09.2010.
A tearful Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 in a rain-delayed US Open final 13.09.2010 to take a step closer to all-time tennis greatness.
The world number one Spaniard completed his collection of Grand Slam titles with the Flushing Meadows crown. The men’s final was delayed by weather for the third year in a row, rained off on 12.09.2010 and interrupted for two hours on 13.09.2010 at 4- all in the second set.
Nadal is the seventh player in tennis history to win all four majors. Fred Perry, Don Budge, Rod Laver, Roy Emerson, Andre Agassi and Federer have also won the Australian Open, French Open, US Open and Wimbledon.
Nadal clinched the victory with tears of joy as Djokovic slammed his 47th unforced error in a marathon which lasted three hours and 43 minutes in playing time and almost six hours including the rain interruption.
Nadal will now be trailed in the ATP rankings by Djokovic, who returns to second after defeating five-time winner Federer in their semi-final. Nadal now stands an impressive 9-2 in Grand Slam finals and becomes the first lefthander to win the New York title since John McEnroe in 1984.
Nadal’s victory was his 21st in a row at the Grand Slam level as he becomes the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three consecutive majors. He stretched his lead in the ATP table with six trophies in 2010 as he claimed a first hardcourt title since 2009 at Indian Wells.
Nadal won the opening set in 50 minutes in the re-scheduled match, which had been washed out 12.09.2010. But the re-play day was not blessed by the weather, with fast-moving storms soon arriving as predicted and forcing a two-hour halt in play in the ninth game of the second set. When the evening skies cleared, the pair came back out, with Nadal rallying from 1-4 down but unable to complete the job as Djokovic broke in the final game to level the sets at one apiece in the slow-moving title showdown.
Nadal got up a break for 2-1 in the third and carried the margin to the end, with Djokovic saving four break points in the seventh game before dropping the set three games later as Nadal took tighter command.
Nadal achieved a double break in the fourth set, reaching 5-1 on his 47th winner of the testing evening. Two games later, the winner was on his knees in joy as the reality of his accomplishment began to sink in.
Nadal’s victory was his 120th in a major and marked his 42 career trophy.
Rafael Nadal:-
Born: 03/06/1986 in Manacor
Height: 185 cm
Weight: 85 kg
Type: Left hand, two-handed backhand
Pro since: 2001
ATP/WTA: 1
Residence: Manacor
US Open – Men’s US Open final statistics
Match statistics from Rafael Nadal’s 6-4 5-7 6-4 6-2 victory over Novak Djokovic in the men’s singles final at the US Open.
Nadal
First serve percentage 67
Aces 8
Double faults 2
Winning percentage on first serve 55 of 75 – 73 per cent
Winning percentage on second serve 21 of 37 – 57 per cent
Winners (including service) 49
Unforced errors 31
Break point conversions 6 of 26
Net approaches 16 of 20
Total points won 136
Djokovic
First serve percentage 66
Aces 5
Double faults 4
Winning percentage on first serve 61 of 95 – 64 per cent
Winning percentage on second serve 22 of 48 – 46 per cent
Winners (including service) 45
Unforced errors 47
Break point conversions 3 of 4
Net approaches 28 of 45
Total points won 119
Match duration three hours and 42 minutes
US Open – Grand Slam winners’ fact box
The “Magnificent Seven” men to have won all four Grand Slam singles titles after Rafael Nadal joined the list by winning the US Open are:
FRED PERRY (Britain) (8 titles)
Australian Open: 1934; French Open: 1935; Wimbledon: 1934, 1935, 1936; US Open: 1933, 1934, 1936
DON BUDGE (US) (6 titles)
Australian Open: 1938; French Open: 1938; Wimbledon: 1937, 1938; U.S. Open: 1937, 1938
ROD LAVER (Australia) (11 titles)
Australian Open: 1960, 1962, 1969; French Open: 1962, 1969; Wimbledon: 1961, 1962, 1968, 1969; US Open: 1962, 1969
ROY EMERSON (Australia) (12 titles)
Australian Open: 196, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967; French Open: 1963, 1967; Wimbledon: 1964, 1965; U.S. Open: 1961, 1964
ANDRE AGASSI (US) (8 titles)
Australian Open: 1995, 2000, 2001, 2003; French Open: 1999; Wimbledon: 1992; US Open: 1994, 1999
ROGER FEDERER (Switzerland) (16 titles)
Australian Open: 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010; French Open: 2009; Wimbledon: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009; US Open: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
RAFAEL NADAL (Spain) (9 titles)
Australian Open: 2009; French Open: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010; Wimbledon: 2008, 2010; US Open: 2010
For Reference books on Current Affairs Click Here
You may also like:
- Sushil Kumar won gold medal in the World Wrestling Championship – 13.09.2010
- Saina Nehwal to get Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award – 30.07.2010
- Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is now ranked No. 2 in the world – 16.07.2010
- Rafael Nadal beats Berdych for 2nd Wimbledon title – 5.07.2010
Similar Links:
