A year earlier Nadal knocked off Djokovic in four sets to win his first US Open championship and complete the career Grand Slam. But Djokovic had turned the tables in 2011, defeating Nadal all five times they played?all in finals. A victory for Nadal, the reigning French Open champion, would give him a split of the year?s four Grand Slam events and tie him with Bjorn Borg and Rod Laver for fourth all-time with 11 Grand Slam tournament titles. A victory for Djokovic would give him his first US Open title, make him just the sixth man in the Open Era to win three Grand Slam tournaments in a single season and run his record on the year to an incomparable 64-2.


