If it's early fall, Roger Federer must be the US Open champion. As steady as a Swiss watch, he racked up his fourth straight crown this afternoon with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 thumping of third-seeded Novak Djokovic. The victory, Federer's 12th in a grand slam final, moves him within two of Pete Sampras' career record.
The match was closer than the score—"straight sets is brutal for Novak, to be honest," said Federer—but the 20-year-old Serb, playing in his first major final, couldn't seal the deal despite being up 6-5 in each of the first two sets. "He deserved to win," said Djokovic. "He was the better player." Say that four times fast. (More Roger Federer stories.)