Truly a legend in the world of professional sports, top-seed Roger Federer won his fourth consecutive US Open men’s singles title and 12th Grand Slam title with a 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 triumphant win over third-seed Novak Djokovic on Sunday evening in Arthur Ashe Stadium. The win puts the top-ranked Swiss just two titles behind Pete Sampras’ all-time record of 14. He is also now tied with Roy Emerson for the second-most Grand Slam victories in tennis history and is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the Open four consecutive years.

Even though Wimbledon will always be his priority, Federer stated of the US Open, “I realize actually what kind of a big-time event this is, you know, with 24,000 people in the stadium, the city. Just the difficulty to win here. I wasn’t aware of it in the very beginning when I came on tour, really. For me, the US Open is the second biggest one we have on tour. To have won those two, you know, the most times, it’s just incredible for me.”

Djokovic, with quite an accomplishment in reaching the final of a Grand Slam for the first time in his professional career, spoke very highly of Federer and his mental toughness. “It’s amazing to see him, how fast and how successful he deals with that pressure. He performs some incredible tennis.”

Federer had a four-match winning streak against Djokovic until AMS Montreal four weeks ago, where the Serbian defeated Federer, the defending champion, in the final to collect his fourth title of the season. Having earlier defeated No. 3 Andy Roddick, 7-6, 6-4, in the quarterfinals and No. 2 Rafael Nadal, 7-5, 6-3, in the semifinals, Djokovic became the first man since Boris Becker at 1994 Stockholm to defeat the world’s top three in the same event.

Speaking of the potential for a rivalry with Djokovic, along with Nadal, Federer commented, “Very possible, you know. Honestly I’ve enjoyed the challenge of young guys challenging me. This is probably my biggest motivation out there. You know, seeing them challenge me, beating them in the final. It’s really, for me, the best feeling, to be honest."

Federer also acknowledged how hard-fought his last three matches at the Open were, stating, “In the end, looking back, having beaten, Roddick, Davydenko and Djokovic, all in straight sets, is an incredible effort for me. I didn’t expect it after the struggle I had against Isner and Lopez.”