On September 9, 2013 Rafael Nadal defeated Novak Djokovich to win the U.S. Open, winning his second U.S. Open title. Since Nadal was plagued with an injury during the 2012 U.S. Open, he wanted to come back this year and make a stand, and show that he was the best. He suffered an injury to his knee and after that took seven months to rest and rehabilitate. Rafael Nadal has become a household name in recent years, due to the amount of success that he has had in major tournaments. Both players are very tough, and winning this match was no easy task.

He is currently ranked at No. 2 in the world, although after his recent defeat of Djokovich, who is currently ranked No. 1, he may be moving up soon enough. Nadal is a native of Spain and at age 27, defeated the Serbian Djokovich, who is 26.

After winning this match, it also marks his 13th major overall and his 10th title of the year. It also makes his 22nd win in a row on hard courts in 2013, moving him into sole possession of third place in Grand Slam titles, behind only Roger Federer and Pete Sampras, according to Sports Illustrated. Like Federer, he won his 13th at the age of 27, and he is only one behind Sampras.

On having to face Nadal, Djokovich was quoted saying, “It is a challenge you have to accept, like it or not.” The win moved Nadal to a record of 22-15 against Djokovich, and 2-1 in U.S. Open finals. They have met more times than any other two players during the Open era. Nadal has changed his game a bit and says he is trying to play more aggressive than he has in the past, going for more shots inside the net and closer to the baseline.

It has been said that this is the men’s tennis’ Golden Era. It will continue into the next major, which is the Australian Open, only 125 days away, states NBC News. At that tournament, Nadal will attempt to become the first man during the Open Era, to win all four Slams at least twice. Although, at the same time, Djokovich looks to become the first man to win the event four straight times in the Open Era. There is sure to be plenty of emotion going into the tournament for both players, when they each try to set records.

Muchas gracias a todos desde Central Park! :) Thank you from Central Park! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/UJQ0gOPkhL

— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) September 10, 2013

His celebration after the match even included a meeting with Spain’s Queen Sofia.

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