Fifty parting thoughts from the U.S. Open

Rafael Nadal is 60-3 with two Grand Slam titles this year. Serena Williams is 67-4 with two majors.

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PRICE: Serena's commitment pays off with another U.S. Open title

• Paes and Stepanek went on to win the title, beating Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares 6-1, 6-3. Lucie Hradecka and Andrea Hlavackova won the women's title by eliminating Serena and Venus Williams in the semifinals and rallying from a set and break down to edge Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua 6-7 (4), 6-1, 6-4 in the final. The Australian runners-up were finalists at three majors this year.

Roger Federer capped a rough summer with a fourth-round loss at the U.S. Open.

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Victoria Duval, 17, upset 2011 U.S. champion Sam Stosur before losing to Daniela Hantuchova.

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• A tip of the backward baseball cap to Lleyton Hewitt, 32, for reaching the fourth round for the first time since 2006. But how will he abide losing a 5-2 lead in the fifth set -- and the last five games -- of his match against Mikhail Youzhny? Fascinating how even the most revered fighters and mentally strong players occasionally get "the bottles," as the Brits call it.

Lleyton Hewitt couldn't hold a 5-2 fifth-set lead against Mikhail Youzhny in the fourth round.

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Thanks to everyone for the emails and tweets. We'll do it again for the Australian Open in January.