Nadal joins the greats by completing career Grand Slam (News Feature)

By Bill Scott Sep 14, 2010, 10:53 GMT

New York - Rafael Nadal has fulfilled expectations and sealed more tennis history with the breakthrough US Open title which lifts him to a career sweep of all four majors.

The Spaniard now heads into January's Australian Open but is tempering dreams of extending his streak.

'It's a dream have the career Grand Slam, but this is more dream have the US Open. In some moments it's' an unbelievable feeling because I worked a lot all my life,' said Nadal.

'I never imagined to have the four Grand Slams.

'The US Open is the most difficult tournament for me to play, most difficult conditions to adapt, to adjust my game on this court, for the balls, for the court, for everything.'

Nadal, now the seventh man to have won all four of the majors in a career, is retaining his traditional modest demeanour as his star rises closer to that of rival Roger Federer, who dropped back to third in the world after losing to Novak Djokovic in the semis.

Nadal withstood a 24-hour delay due to rain and ignored a two-hour weather interruption in the second set as he claimed his ninth grand Slam title 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 over the Serb who now returns to second in the ATP table.

Nadal now owns 21 straight wins at the majors, and is the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to win three consecutive Grand Slams.

Opponent Djokovic, now back to second in the rankings, is convinced there is more to come from his rival.

'He has the capabilities already now to become the best player ever,' said the Serb. 'He's playing the best tennis that I've ever seen him play on hard courts,' said Djokovic.

'He has improved his serve drastically, the speed, the accuracy. And, of course, his baseline game is as good as ever.

'Nadal is proving each day, each year, that he's getting better. That's what's so frustrating, he's better each time you play him.'

Nadal still refuses to directly compare his achievements to those of Federer, with the new champion rely on results and nothing else to make his point on court.

And he says he cannot yet think of matching the 16 Grand Slam titles of the Swiss even after winning his ninth.

'It's a challenge for me to keep improving to have the chance to play well and to have the chance to win. That's what I'm gonna try this year. The next goal is try to finish the season much better than in other years,' Nadal said.

'The last part of the season always was difficult for me. Today it started to be less difficult, that's true. But I want to finish the season if it's possible with a good feeling.'