(CNN) -- Rafael Nadal sealed a career Grand Slam with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over Serbia's Novak Djokovic in the final of the U.S. Open on Monday, making him the seventh player in tennis history to achieve this milestone.
This year had already been a vintage one for Spain and the nation's sporting heroes. Rafael Nadal was in South Africa to see his countrymen win football's World Cup for the first time, and it seems the Majorcan was truly inspired by their exploits.
Though he dropped a set for the first time in the U.S. Open during his showdown against Djokovic, Nadal handled the pressure points better than his rival and went on to seal a relatively comfortable win against the No. 3 seed, who has now twice tasted defeat in a U.S. Open final.
After his heroic exploits against Roger Federer in the semifinals, it was a tough wake-up call for the former Australian Open champion who threw everything he could at Nadal -- but ultimately to no avail.
From the moment he broke his opponent in the first game of the match, fans sensed it would be Nadal's night in New York City.
CNN
