Tennis Atlantic

Nadal Dominates All Comers in New York for Second Slam of 2013

Rafael Nadal dropped just two sets in New York the entire tournament. One of those sets was in the final against Novak Djokovic, a match he won 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. The title is the 13th slam for the Spaniard, and his second US Open title.

Nadal simply dominated with his forehand and his drop shots against Djokovic in the final. Novak raised his level at times and was able to match him, but eventually he just couldn’t keep up the pace as Nadal was getting to everything. Nadal was clutch, saving most of the break points he faced and playing better defense as Novak pressed aggressively but came up empty in all but the second set.

Nadal also took care of Phillip Kohlschreiber in 4 sets as the German was able to match a malaised Nadal for a set before losing the plot, then destroyed a tired Tommy Robredo in straights. He followed that with a victory over a well performing Richard Gasquet, who was able to get past David Ferrer in the quarters to reach the semis, avoiding losing a 2 sets to 0 lead.

Novak had a slightly rougher path to the finals. He got week 2 started by destroying Marcel Granollers, and he had control of his quarterfinal match against Mikhail Youzhny, who upset Lleyton Hewitt to get to that point. Novak beat Youzhny in 4, and then needed 5 sets in a reprisal of his Australian Open match against Stanislas Wawrinka. Wawrinka shockingly routined Andy Murray, taking out the defending champion in straight sets He gave Djokovic a good match once again, but not quite as good, as he got gimped up and couldn’t maintain his early level.

The final came down to the best two all-around players right now, and Nadal basically secured the year end number 1. With no points left to defend the rest of the year, he remains undefeated on hard courts. He won both the summer masters and the US Open to win the US Open Series in a sweep. When his Roland Garros title is included along with the fact that he has come back from the knee injuries so strongly, he is a lock for player of the year without a doubt.

In the doubles, the Bryans were stopped from winning the Golden Slam by Radek Stepanek and Leander Paes, who won the doubles title beating Alex Peya and Bruno Soares in the final.

—Steen Kirby, TennisEastCoast.com