There can be no doubt that 2010 in the world of tennis belongs to Rafael Nadal. The stunning Spaniard may have had to wait twenty-four hours to claim the 9th Grand Slam success of his career, but his epic four-set triumph over Novak Djokovic in Monday’s men’s singles final was a special moment for Nadal. It was his third Grand Slam in a row, and he becomes only the seventh player in the history of the game to have won all four grand slams (Australia, France, Wimbledon and the US Open). He equals a feat set by Roger Federer, Andre Agassi and Rod Laver, but has bettered the likes of Pete Sampras, John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
Coming to Flushing Meadows, Nadal was playing down his chances, as this was his weakest surface on the tour. Prior to this year, he had never made the final at the US Open, but he was in unstoppable form in the previous fortnight, as shown by his ability to overcome a sticky patch in the final. Djokovic won the second set, then went stride for stride in the third set, before a crucial break on the Serb’s serve was the turning point, The 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 scoreline was a fair reflection on what was the best final of the entire tennis year.
After years of constant frustration, Djokovic showed he does have some extra mettle in his game, that had been previously missing. His semi-final win over the former king of the game, Roger Federer was of immense quality, and showed that when he is on form, he should be feared. Sadly, he doesn’t produce it on enough occasions. His defeat in the final will be hard to take, but he wasn’t disgraced and come Melbourne next January, we will see if this run to the final in New York can take his game up a level. Federer’s semi-final loss completes a dismal year by the high standards of the Swiss legend. Since his Australian Open win in February, Federer suffered two shock quarter-final eliminations in the summer Grand Slams, was beaten by Lleyton Hewitt in the final in Halle and has also struggled to make an impression on the ATP circuit, with just one victory in Cinnancti. Never write off Federer, because he has bounced back before, but it is a worring slump of form and he will hope for better in 2011. So too will Andy Murray after quite frankly, the worst year of his professional career. Since reaching the final in Australia, Murray’s form has been very patchy, even on the hard-court surface, which is his strongest by some distance. Granted, he did well to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals, but Andy has lacked consistent performances this season and needs to bring in a new coach quickly. His third round exit in Flushing Meadows to the Pole, Stanislas Wawrinka was a shocking near-collapse of a player’s game. He must do better if he is to remain in the elite next year.
With no Serena Williams, due to a broken foot, the women’s game was wide open again, and it resulted in a second successive US Open triumph for Kim Clistjers. The Belgian ripped the Russian Vera Zvonareva to pieces in Saturday’s final, romping home 6-2, 6-0 in just under an hour. Zvonareva’s floods of tears at the end of the contest suggested that she knew she had disappointed, especially after her impressive win over the No.1 seed Caroline Wozinacki in the semi-finals. With Maria Sharapova returning to her best form, before being dumped out by Wozinacki, and the likes of Francesca Schiavone and Sam Stosur breaking through this year, the Williams sisters may not have it all their own way next season.
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