NEW YORK—Destiny beckoned to each man in the U.S. Open final, but only one answered the call with the full commitment of his being. As Rafael Nadal rushed headlong to embrace fate, Novak Djokovic seemed to resist it. At first, the Serb couldn’t find his inspiration; later, he couldn’t sustain it. As a result, Nadal drilled his way deeper in the record books with a triumph that might stand as a career-defining moment—a 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 result that resonated with significance.
This one was for the title of player of the year, ATP rankings be danged, as the men entered the tournament with one Grand Slam win apiece. Nadal stole out of the semis at Roland Garros with a 9-7 in-the-fifth win, boosting his overall record against Djokovic to 20-15, but Djokovic had a big lead on hard courts, 11-6.
This was also Nadal’s bid to bag a 13th major title, and it had the complexion of a game-changer when it comes to his legacy. At 27, Nadal is now just four major titles behind his original rival, Roger Federer. Given his undiminished prowess at Roland Garros (eight titles in nine tries). . . well, you do the math.
But all that also meant that Djokovic had a great opportunity to play the spoiler, and if there were an insufficiently dignified role, to insert himself into the “greatest this” and “greatest that” conversation.
This also was Djokovic’s last best chance this year to recapture the lost glory of 2011, the year he dominated and hammered Nadal in all six of their meetings, including two in Masters finals deep in the European red-clay heartland. Nadal came into this contest with a soaring spirit and a 21-match winning streak on hard courts, proof positive that the threat his vulnerable knees posed to his career as little as a year ago had, at least for now, abated. Nadal hardly dared dream of winning here; it was too much like the perfect ending to a fairy-tale story. That ought to explain why he called this season “the most emotional one” in his career.
“I felt that I did everything right to have my chance here,” Nadal said afterward. “So, you know, you play one match against one of the best players of the history, number one in the world, probably on his favorite surface, so I have to be almost perfect to win. Means a lot for me to have this trophy. Is just amazing.”
A subdued Djokovic sounded almost penitent when he reviewed how he allowed the match to get away from him after rallying to win the second set.
“It’s all my fault, you know. I made some unforced errors in the crucial moments with forehands and dropped the serve twice when I should not have. The next thing you know, all of a sudden it’s two sets to one for him.”
The reality was a little more complicated than that, starting with the puzzling if not entirely unfamiliar slow start by Djokovic. By the fourth game he was down a break and seeking relief from the pressure by unburdening himself after errors to his coach and support team in the guest box. Djokovic can’t afford to spot Nadal points, never mind sets.
The match-up between Djokovic and Nadal, aside from producing rallies that seem to belong in some perfect athletic parallel universe, is compelling. But not in the familiar ways. It isn’t a clash of radically different personalities (a la Pete Sampras vs. Andre Agassi), or a bout pitting a creative genius against an implacable, focused grinder who does fewer things, but all of them well (a la John McEnroe vs. Bjorn Borg).