He’s done it again! After losing in the first round of Wimbledon, Rafael Nadal has orchestrated a magnificent comeback to the win the 2013 US Open. In a highly contested match against the number one ranked Novak Djokovic, Nadal went 6-2, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 to win his 13th Grand Slam title.

Nadal was fast and commanding in night that saw several matches go to 15 – 25 strokes and one particular point that went to 54 strokes. In an emotinal interview following the victory Nadals said, “Very, very emotional, no? Probably only my team knows how much (this) means for me.” He contiued, “Probably nobody brings my game to the limit like Novak,” said Nadal, who collected $3.6 million in prize money, including a $1 million bonus for results during the North American hard-court circuit.

There was no quit in either of them, during points that lasted 15, 25, even more than 50 strokes. Those rallies went so long, rarely over when they appeared to be, and spectators often shouted out during the course of play, prompting Nadal to complain to the chair umpire.

This was their 37th match against each other, the most between any two men in the Open era, and Nadal has won 22. It also was their third head-to-head US Open final in the last four years. Nadal beat Djokovic for the 2010 title, and Djokovic won their rematch in 2011.

They know each other’s games so well, and play such similar hustle-to-every-ball styles, but in the end, it was Nadal who was superior.

“He was too good. He definitely deserved to win this match today and this trophy,” Djokovic said. “Obviously disappointing to lose a match like this.”

Nadal improved to 22-0 on hard courts and 60-3 overall in 2013 with nine titles, including at the French Open, which made him the first man with at least one Grand Slam trophy in nine consecutive seasons. The 27-year-old Spaniard’s total of 13 major championships ranks third in the history of men’s tennis, behind onlyRoger Federer’s 17 and Pete Sampras’ 14.

“Thirteen Grand Slams for a guy who is 27 years old is incredible,” said Djokovic, who owns six himself. “Whatever he achieved so far in his career, everybody should respect, no question about it.”

These are the same two who played the longest Grand Slam final in history, a nearly six-hour struggle that left both needing to sit in chairs during the ceremony after Djokovic’s victory at the 2012 Australian Open.

This time, when it ended with a forehand into the net by Djokovic, Nadal dropped to his back on the court, saluted by an Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd that included the Queen of Spain.

Nadal was relentless from shot to shot, yes, and from point to point, too, but what might have been most impressive was the way he stayed steady when Djokovic recovered from a rough start and began asserting himself.

In New York, Djokovic was coming off another four-hour semifinal victory, and the key stat in the first set Monday was that he made 14 unforced errors, 10 more than Nadal.

There were no surprising or innovative tactics from Nadal. In the simplest of terms, he reached nearly every ball Djokovic delivered, and Nadal’s replies nearly never missed the intended spot, accented by his huge uppercut of a swing and loud grunts of “Aaaah!” By match’s end, Djokovic had made 53 unforced errors, Nadal only 20.

“Credit to my opponent. He was making me run,” said Djokovic, who won the Australian Open in January and will remain No. 1 in the rankings despite Monday’s loss. “I had my ups and downs.”