NEW YORK: Novak Djokovic earned his third major title of 2015 and the 10th of his career Sunday night, beating Roger Federer, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, in the US Open men’s final.

Playing in the championship match in New York for the first time in six years, Federer did not go away easily, though.

Facing a 5-2 deficit in the fourth, Federer broke Djokovic once and then held serve to cut the gap to 5-4. With the top-seeded Serbian attempting to serve for the championship again, Federer grabbed a 40-15 lead, but Djokovic answered back, forcing deuce. After saving another break point, Djokovic dialed up two serves down the middle, each more than 120 mph, that were too much for Federer to handle.

When the second of Federer’s returns landed out, Djokovic celebrated his win by sending a steely stare toward the stands and then pointing to his heart before jogging in to shake Federer’s hand.

After thanking the line judge, he tossed his racket to the ground, lifted both of his hands in the air and blew a kiss to the sky.

“I was serving at 5-2 in the fourth set, and Roger showed why he’s a champion and he’s been fighting and making me play to the last point,” Djokovic said. “I was very fortunate to come up with some big serves in the last game.”

“I’m going to try to nurture and enjoy this victory as much as I can,” Djokovic added moments later.

Throughout the match, Djokovic’s defensive ability forced No. 2 seed Federer to go for riskier and riskier shots, and he ended up with 54 unforced errors.

Djokovic, 28, saved 19 of the 23 break points Federer earned during the 3-hour 20-minute battle.

This year is the first since 2002 in which neither Federer nor Rafael Nadal won a major.

“I’m very pleased with where my game’s at,” Federer said. “Being back at the finals is where you want to be and playing against a great champion like Novak was obviously a massive challenge. I enjoyed it.”

After waiting out a three-hour rain delay, Djokovic asserted himself quickly. The world No. 1 earned three break points in Federer’s first service game of the match and then earned the third break off Federer of the tournament on the world No. 2’s second service game, winning a 24-shot rally when Federer hit a backhand long.

During the next game, Djokovic slipped while running toward a Federer drop volley, falling hard on his elbow and knee. He quickly dropped that game, allowing Federer to get back on serve with errors and then letting the Swiss player hold to love.

But after a visit from a trainer, Djokovic held serve and then earned another break with a backhand passing shot winner.

Federer had a break-point opportunity in the next game but could not take advantage, and Djokovic quickly held in the final game of that set to take a lead in the match.

The set was the first Federer lost since losing to Djokovic in four sets at Wimbledon in July. Between those two matches, Federer won 28 straight sets, including two in a victory over Djokovic in Cincinnati last month.

“I feel like my game is moving in the right direction,” Federer said. Then the five-time US Open champ thought about how that might sound. “It’s odd, you win this five times and then you lose and you say that.”

In the second set Sunday, the only break came in the final game, as Federer, who could not break Djokovic during a 13-minute, 20-point game earlier in the set, sent Djokovic skidding as he failed to reach a set-winning backhand from the 34-year-old.

Djokovic won the third set despite losing a majority of the points as he saved four of the five break points he faced, including two in the final game. Djokovic came back from 40-15 down in that game with a service win on a 123-mph missile up the middle and by winning a 21-shot rally when Federer barely missed a backhand wide. Djokovic then won the game to take a commanding lead in the match, using a 119-mph serve wide to attack the net and force another error from Federer.

“I have a tremendous respect for Roger and what his game is presenting to me,” Djokovic said. “He’s always going to take the best out of you and that was needed from my side to win this trophy, and it’s quite an incredible evening for me.”