As Rafael Nadal moved to within four majors of the absent Roger Federer and seven ahead of the not-always-present Novak Djokovic, there could be no denying that the recrowned king of New York was the best player in the world on Monday, and maybe for a little while to come.
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He beat the official world No 1 in four sets again, 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 in three hours and 21 minutes, to win his second US Open and 13th career Slam in his third joust with Djokovic in four years. It is a trilogy to further cement one of the enduring rivalries in sport. Again, until the fourth set, they hit heights of excellence to take the breath away in their 37th encounter — more than anyone in the history of the game — reaching back to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2006.
What a year the Spaniard has had: coming back to the game after seven months out to rest knees that would not have been out of place on a marionette, going on to win 60 of 64 matches, 22 of them on hard courts, lift 10 titles, two of them majors – and he is still No 2 in the world.
He could rectify that in the two months remaining, but that was not a priority at Flushing Meadows. This was his sixth win over Djokovic in their last seven matches. That's a statement.
Djokovic, managed a smile but not many platitudes in the immediate aftermath. "He definitely deserved to win this match," he said.
"It was a huge privilege to be fighting for this trophy."
Nadal, was brief and to the point as well, "Very, very emotional. All my team knows how much this means to me. Probably nobody brings my game to its limits like Novak Djokovic."
Rod Laver, 75 now and living in California for many years, flipped the coin a little after 5pm local time and it would have been no surprise had it floated away in the prevailing gusts.
Nadal was in grey, but hardly dull, and Djokovic wore red and black, a menacing sight.
His crimson jacket fluttered like a matador's cape in the light breeze, which was steady but not as strong as the night before during the women's final. It was hard to pick the crowd; they were with the Spanish bull at the start, switching to the Serb when he came to life in the second, back behind the new champion at the end.
The suspicion is the masochism needed to survive in the modern game probably sustains the electricity that exists between these fine champions, and they rather enjoy the public trials of a private feud. If they are sick of the sight of each other, they don't show it.
Nadal and Djokovic also brought more combined treasure to the showdown, 18 Slams, than anyone since Pete Sampras (13) and Andre Agassi (7) when they contested the 2002 final.
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