Djokovic whips Nadal in U.S. Open men’s final

NEW YORK – Novak Djokovic produced a nearly perfect performance to match his nearly perfect season.

Returning brilliantly, swatting winners from all angles, the No. 1-ranked Djokovic beat defending champion Rafael Nadal 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 Monday night in a final full of lengthy, mesmerizing points to earn his first U.S. Open title and third Grand Slam trophy of 2011.

Djokovic improved to 64-2 with 10 tournament titles in a simply spectacular year, one of the greatest in the history of men’s tennis – or any sport, for that matter.

“I’ve had an amazing year,” Djokovic said, “and it keeps going.”

Against No. 2 Nadal, Djokovic is 6-0, all in finals – three on hard courts, including Monday; two on clay; and one on grass at Wimbledon. Djokovic also won the Australian Open in January, and is only the sixth man in the 40-plus years of the Open era to win three major titles in a single season.

“Obviously, I’m disappointed, but you know what this guy is doing is unbelievable,” Nadal said.

Addressing Djokovic, Nadal added: “What you did this year is impossible to repeat, so well done.”

With a couple of months left this season, Djokovic can set his sights on the best win-loss record in the modern era: John McEnroe went 82-3 in 1984, although that only included two Grand Slam titles, because he lost in the French Open final and didn’t enter the Australian Open. Roger Federer was 81-4 in 2005 with two majors, exiting twice in the semifinals. Rod Laver (twice) and Don Budge are the only men to win all four Grand Slam tournaments in a year.

The biggest change Nadal has seen in Djokovic?

“He’s confident enough in every moment to keep believing in one more ball, one more ball,” Nadal said. “His forehand is not more painful than before. His backhand is not more painful than before. Serve’s the same.”

Djokovic entered this year with one Grand Slam title, at the 2008 Australian Open. He attributes his surge to a variety of factors, including a vastly improved serve, better fitness – owing, at least in part, to a gluten-free diet he doesn’t discuss in any detail – and a seemingly endless reservoir of self-belief dating to December, when he led Serbia’s Davis Cup victory.

With both men playing fantastic, court-covering defense in a grueling contest that lasted 4 hours, 10 minutes, there were more than two dozen points that lasted at least 15 strokes.