Novak Djokovic

It was all about the wind Wednesday at the U.S. Open. Caroline Wozniacki had to make a mid-match hairstyle adjustment, going from ponytail to braid so she could see where the ball was sneaking off. Novak Djokovic waved his racket in the air after a shot he missed because the wind made the ball disappear from his sight. And yet when the day was done, it was the favorites who conquered the conditions and advanced. Especially Roger Federer. The five-time U.S. Open champion and the draw's second-seeded player blew away fifth-seeded Robin Soderling, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. And arriving at the men's semifinals to meet Federer once again is third-seeded Djokovic.

Playing in his opening match in the ATP finals at London, Novak Djokovic dived right in. The top-ranked Serb twice landed hard on the court Monday at the O2 Arena, but it didn't stop him from beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, 7-6 (4), 6-3, and setting up a Wednesday showdown with Group A rival Andy Murray. "All those balls were out of my reach, so I tried to dive," Djokovic said. "I don't usually dive that much. I don't usually spend that much [time at] the net as well. " Djokovic and Murray have played a few epic matches against each other this year, including a five-set Murray win in the U.S. Open final.

Even when Roger Federer had the lead, Novak Djokovic had the answers. The top-ranked Serb recovered from early breaks in both sets and beat Federer, 7-6 (6), 7-5, in the championship match of the ATP finals at London. Federer broke Djokovic's serve to take a 2-0 lead in the first set, and then again to open the second, but both times the world's No. 1 player rebounded to get back into the match. "Maybe a bit of regret because I had the lead twice first before him," Federer said.

More fun than watching some undistinguished first-round tennis matches at the BNP Paribas Open on Thursday afternoon? Crowding around a patch of lawn to hoot and holler as Rafael Nadal kicked around a soccer ball with Novak Djokovic. And if tennis rankings were conducted by a popular vote among the fans who begged for autographs, it would be Nadal ranked No. 1 instead of Djokovic. But it is the Serbian Djokovic, who was also playful with the crowd, who is the defending champion here and who has won four of the last five major tournaments.

Top-ranked Rafael Nadal and No. 2 Novak Djokovic will resume their budding rivalry in the Italian Open final at Rome on Sunday. Nadal overcame a stiff first-set challenge from Richard Gasquet before rolling to a 7-5, 6-1 win in the semifinals Saturday, and Djokovic was pushed to the limit in a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (2) victory over fourth-ranked Andy Murray , extending his unbeaten streak to 38 matches after 3 hours and 1 minute of grueling baseline rallies. Djokovic beat Nadal in title matches at Indian Wells and Miami this year, then also won in Madrid last weekend, his first victory over the Spaniard on clay.

Rafael Nadal finally managed to beat Novak Djokovic in a final, thrashing the top-ranked Serb, 6-3, 6-1, on Sunday to win the Monte Carlo Masters for the eighth consecutive year and end a run of seven straight defeats to his rival in title matches. Nadal was hardly troubled by Djokovic in this one and broke the Serb's serve five times in a one-sided affair on clay to win his 42nd straight match at Monte Carlo. It was his first title since last year's French Open and the 47th of his career.

Already, Novak Djokovic is having one of the best seasons in tennis history. He is 57-2 and has won nine titles, including two of the majors, the Australian Open and Wimbledon. Djokovic is 5-0 this season over the No. 2 player in the world, Rafael Nadal. And if Djokovic, seeded No. 1, can win the U.S. Open, which begins Monday, he might just be able to claim he has had the best season in history — even without sweeping all four major tournaments. Mary Carillo, who will be an analyst for CBS this year, pointed not only to Djokovic's Australian Open and Wimbledon titles, but also to the way he has played in the second level of ATP Tournament events — called the Masters 1000 series — that have fields as strong as the majors.

Defending champion and third-seeded Rafael Nadal blasted his way into the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open on Monday afternoon, snapping off his forehands that landed with a loud pop and giving Mario Ancic no room to hope. Nadal beat Ancic, 6-2, 6-2, in 65 minutes and then pronounced himself pleased with the state of his game. Second-seeded Novak Djokovic tiptoed his way into the fourth round. He navigated through a shaky second set, survived some crucial service breaks in the third set and eliminated Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, in a two-hour, 35-minute match that showed the resilience that Djokovic has sometimes seemed to miss.

Reporting from New York -- One game defined the U.S. Open men's final Monday at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The third game of the second set lasted more than 17 minutes and encompassed 27 points. Rafael Nadal was serving to Novak Djokovic, and the tennis played was physically punishing and mentally anguishing. There were lobs and drop shots, double faults and running winners that seemed to touch every sideline. But the final shot was a massive mistake by Nadal, an overhead that he smashed into the net instead of over it. It gave Djokovic one of his astounding 11 service breaks in the match and was the defining moment of a match filled with many more great strokes than bad. Djokovic, seeded first and ranked No. 1 in the world, won his fourth major title — and third this year — by beating defending champion and second-seeded Nadal, 6-2, 6-4, 6-7 (3)