Roger Federer wins fourth straight U.S. Open

NEW YORK, Sept 9 - Roger Federer is another step closer to becoming the greatest men's tennis player in history.

The top-seeded Federer defeated No. 3 Novak Djokovic , 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4, to win his fourth consecutive U.S. Open title on Sunday.

It is the 12th Grand Slam title for the 26-year-old Swiss superstar which ties him for second all-time with Roy Emerson. Pete Sampras is the only player with more major championships at 14.

"I've had an upset stomach the last few days, nervous, shaking, cold hands before the match, I've had it all," said Federer, admitting that even he gets nervous at Grand Slams. "I'm supposed to be the experienced guy who has got used to the situation but you never do get used to it."

In winning his 51st career singles titles and the sixth this season, Federer extended his winning streak here to 27 matches, equaling Ivan Lendl's Open-Era U.S. Open record.

The win also proved to be a big payday for Federer who, because he won this year's U.S. Open Series and the U.S. Open title, received a $1 million dollar bonus in addition to the $1.4 million in prize money.

With the win, Federer also continued to pad an already eye-popping resume.

He is the first player to win at least four straight U.S. titles since Bill Tilden, who won six consecutive championships from 1920-25. Additionally, Federer becomes the first player in history to win Wimbledon and the U.S. Open back-to-back in four consecutive years.

In his 10th consecutive Grand Slam final, the world No. 1 didn't exactly cruise to victory against Djokovic, the first Serbian to play in a major championship match.

After the players held serve to 5-5 in the first set, Djokovic earned the first break of the game and served for the match. The 20-year-old Serbian opened up a 40-0 lead, but then got a bit shaky as he squandered all three set points and gave Federer new life at deuce.

Djokovic would get two more set points in the game, but Federer fought back in each instance and eventually won the game on a double-fault.

Another double-fault sunk Djokovic in the ensuing tiebreak as his second serve into the net staked Federer to a 4-3 lead. The world No. 1 took advantage of the miscue and went on to win the set.

Djokovic, who shouted in frustration and tossed his racquet to the ground more than once during his opening-set loss, came out strong in the second set.

He broke Federer in the fourth game and then held serve to gain a 4-1 advantage. But Federer regained his service game by earning a break in the seventh game.

With Federer on serve later in the set, Djokovic found himself ahead 6-5 with two set points at 40-15. Once again, Federer refused to be cave and fought back to force another tiebreak, which he won convincingly.

Federer's businesslike demeanor in the third set disappeared quickly when Djokovic sent a shot into the net on match point. Much like his reaction after winning Wimbledon earlier this year, Federer collapsed to the ground when the match was clinched.

"I think straight sets is a bit brutal for Novak to be honest," said Federer, complimenting his opponent. "He deserved better than that but he had a fantastic run, not just at this tournament but the entire year ... he's going to have many more battles I think."

Despite the loss, this likely won't be the last Grand Slam final appearance for the 20-year-old Djokovic, whose had a breakout year and captured four singles titles.

One of Djokovic's six career singles titles came last month on the hardcourt at Montreal when he defeated Federer in the Rogers Cup final. It is his only victory against Federer in six meetings.

"I'd like to congratulate Roger," Djokovic said. "Once again he has shown that he is the best and he deserved to win today. He was the better player."