NEW YORK – Roger Federer sure gave Novak Djokovic chances, plenty of chances, to pull off a major upset in the U.S. Open final.

Federer knows how to win these things, while Djokovic is still learning, and that made the difference yesterday. Hardly at the top of his game, Federer came through, beating Djokovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 for his fourth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 12th Grand Slam title overall.

Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the American Grand Slam four years running, and, still only 26 years old, he moved within two of Pete Sampras’ career record of 14 major titles.

“I think about it a lot now,” Federer said of Sampras’ mark. “To come so close at my age is fantastic, and I hope to break it.”

How many Slams can he win?

“I don’t know,” Federer said. “I hope more than Pete.”

This one was a close call. The 20-year-old Djokovic was in his first Slam final, yet he led 6-5 in each of the opening two sets.

In the first, he held five set points. In the second, he held two.

Federer erased all of those, showing the craft and cool that have allowed him to hold the No. 1 ranking for the past 188 weeks, the longest run ever.

“My next book is going to be called, ‘Seven Set Points,'” Djokovic said, flashing the same sort of humor he displayed when he did on-court impersonations of other players after his quarterfinal victory.

On a more serious note, the No. 3-seeded Djokovic said of Federer: “Once again, he showed he’s the best.”

In Djokovic, Federer was facing the only man to beat him over the past three months, but that was in early August at Montreal, not early September at New York, and in a Grand Slam tuneup, not the real deal.

So, not just talented with a racket but prescient, too, Federer pretty much predicted what would transpire. Shortly before walking out for yesterday’s match, he said knowingly, “It’ll be interesting to see how he handles the final.”

Sure was.

Afterward, Federer spoke about having enjoyed getting another shot at Djokovic.

“New guys challenging me – this is my biggest motivation out there,” Federer said. “Seeing them challenging me, and then beating them in the finals.”

In the end, about the only category Djokovic won on this day was “Most Intriguing Guests,” with 2006 Open champion Maria Sharapova – “just a friendship,” he said – and actor Robert De Niro sharing a box with his parents in the stands.