Rafael Nadal of Spain bites the championship trophy during the trophy ceremony after defeating Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win the men's singles final on day fifteen of the 2010 U.S.S. Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 13, 2010 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)Clive Brunskill/Getty Images
Afterwards, when it was all over, Rafael Nadal sprawled on the court, checked the heavens and confirmed: Yep, finally, no more rain.
It was 10:01 p.m. EST Monday night, about a day and a half later than the U.S. Open men's tennis final was scheduled to finish.
But for Nadal, the acrobatic Spaniard, the wait was worth it.
Nadal battled Novak Djokovic, the elements, and occasionally his own nerves, but in the end, he emerged triumphant over all three.
Nadal became just the seventh player in tennis history to complete a career Grand Slam, adding his first U.S. Open title to five French Opens, two Wimbledons and one Australian championship that he'd previously one. Nadal won an epic match with Djokovic by a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 score.
"Right now, he is the best player in the world," said Djokovic, "and he absolutely deserves this title."
In a year when Nadal cemented his hold on No. 1 and won three of the four Grand Slams this year, the 24-hour postponement gave Djokovic faint hope that he might recover from a taxing five-set victory over Roger Federer Saturday.
But it wasn't to be.
Culminating a fortnight that featured hellish weather conditions throughout - oppressive heat early, Sahara-like winds last week, Monday's 1 hour and 57-minute rain delay in the middle of the second set - Nadal proved to have just a little bit more to of everything than Djokovic: A little more poise, a little better shot-making and the ability to serve well when needed.
Djokovic had his moments too. At one point in the second set, he rattled off 11 consecutive points. But it just was not enough to defeat Nadal, the third-youngest player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.
Only Don Budge and Rod Laver were younger than Nadal, who did it at 24 years and 102 days, leaving him in a position to potentially run down the all-time leader Federer, who is at 16 Slams and counting. Federer had six at a similar point in his career.
Of winning the U.S. Open, Nadal said post-match: "That's what I've dreamt about. It's amazing - when I have that trophy in my hands in a few minutes."
For Nadal, the victory represented a pivotal moment in what has a chance to be the greatest playing career in history, his knees willing. Nadal lost in the semi-finals to Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro last year in what was an injury-plagued 2009, but came back this year, in reasonably good health and with a new improved service game.
Until yesterday, Nadal had only lost serve twice in his first six matches. Djokovic got to him three Monday - once at love in a particularly ugly fourth game of the second - but it wasn't enough. Nadal's focus is exceptional and even after an unexpected second-set lapse, in which he lost serve twice, he willed himself back into the groove.
In what was perhaps Djokovic's last, best chance to get into the match - in the 10th game of the third set, with and looking at a chance for yet another break - Nadal pulled it out with three brilliant serves in a row to clinch the set.
From there, Djokovic's energy level dropped; and the fourth set was mostly a formality - and ended in a hurry.
CBS, the event's TV rights holders, asked for a 4 p.m. start, which wasted most of a brilliant sunny New York afternoon. It was still bright and warm when play finally got underway, but by the second set, the clouds were rolling in. It created an eerie atmosphere for the players, the air thickening with every passing moment, making the balls heavy.
There has been talk recently of installing a roof above Arthur Ashe stadium to mitigate against this sort of development, just as they've done in both Australia and Wimbledon. This was the third time in the past three years that the men's final was held a day late for weather reasons, but the prohibitive costs of modifying what is already the largest tennis stadium in the world make it unlikely that a change is coming any time soon.
But Nadal - who won his first-ever hard court tournament at the Roger's Cup in Montreal five years ago - this was just another chapter in his remarkable rise from clay-court specialist. Mostly, Nadal's strength is his ability to adjust his game on the fly. His defence is still his greatest strength - three times, he made passing shots by pulling a backhand crosscourt off his shoe tops. But he also mixed in some key net points and a serve that moved from one side of the box to the other, so Djokovic couldn't get into any sort of rhythm on the return.
In short, he demonstrated a maestro's touch on the largest stage that he had left to conquer.