New York, Sep 14: After clinching his first ever US Open title to pocket his ninth grand slam, Rafael Nadal protested against comparisions being drawn between him and Swiss ace Roger Federer.

"I think talking about if I am better or worse than Roger (Federer) is stupid. Because the titles say he's much better than me, so that's true at the moment. I think that will be true all my life," he said in response to a question after the match.

Claiming a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Novak Djokovic, 24-year-old Nadal added ninth grand slam title to his illustrious career, while 29-year-old Roger Federer has a record 16 titles to his credit.

However, it is a difficult task for the tennis world to not compare Rafa to the Swiss legend as the Spaniard has rarely failed to impress.

In a sharp contrast against the rather disastrous year in 2009 due to injuries, Nadal has had a brilliant year so far as he has already won the French Open and Wimbledon, besides a slew of other clay court events.

With the victory at the Flushing Meadows in 2010 Nadal also became the seventh man to claim all four of the sport's grand slam titles.

"To win in here in the US Open, I think, is the more difficult tournament for me to play, more difficult conditions to adapt, to adjust my game on this court, for the balls, for the court, for everything," he said.

On a more philosophical note, the world number one said, "Life changes sometimes, no? Ten months ago, (it) seemed like I was never gonna be the same. Now, (it) seems I gonna be one of the greatest.

"When you come back, you are ready to value how difficult it is (to) win titles and how difficult (it) is to be there all the time," he added.

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