Federer Survives Djokovic to Win 12th Grand Slam

For much of Sunday's US Open Final, Roger Federer looked about as comfortable as an Amish kid in a computer lab.

Federer made 15 unforced errors in the first set -- already exceeding his tournament average of 14 per match -- and had yet to put pressure on Novak Djokovic's serve. After coughing up his serve at 5-all, Federer found himself down 5-6, love-40 with Djokovic serving.

But somehow, Houdini-like, Federer escaped to break serve and later win the set in the tiebreak.

And so went the story of the match; with his back against the wall, Federer made the shots when Djokovic couldn't. When opportunity knocked, Federer answered.

Down a break at 1-4 in the second, Federer broke Djokovic again and eventually pushed the set to another tiebreaker, which he won on a wicked backhand down the line. Taking a page out of his pal Tiger Woods' book, Federer unleashed a deep fist pump in celebration.

Behind two sets to love to one of the greatest players all time, Djokovic was a man defeated.

It was Federer's fourth consecutive US Open victory and 12th Grand Slam, leaving him two behind Pete Sampras, who holds the record with 14. I've said before that without a win at the French Open, Federer still has something left to prove.

I've changed my mind.

Today's match was far from pretty, but Federer got the job done with less than his best stuff. the 20 year-old Djokovic brought his best arsenal of shots -- though there's room for improvement and maturation -- but Federer survived to defend his turf.

That's the mark of a champion.