Novak Djokovic beats Rafael Nadal (VIDEO)

Novak Djokovic confirmed his status as the world's best player with a stunning victory over defending champion Rafael Nadal to lift his first US Open title.The top seed from Serbia gave a display of breathtaking quality to triumph 6-2 6-4 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 in four hours and 10 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.Against No. 2 Nadal this season, Djokovic is 6-0, all in finals – three on hard courts, including Monday; two on clay; and one on grass at Wimbledon. Djokovic also won the Australian Open in January, and is only the sixth man in the 40-plus years of the Open era to win three major titles in a single season.That was the 24-year-old Serb's last match before heading to Flushing Meadows. His shoulder was fine in New York, clearly, and while he was treated by a trainer for a bad back, a rib problem and cramps in his legs in the late going Monday — which is why his serves slowed to the 90s mph in the fourth set — he overcame it.