Novak Djokovic overcame Juan Martin del Potro in straights sets to win the 2018 US Open final and match Pete Sampras' tally of 14 major titles - and promptly described his accomplishment as a 'dream come true'.

The 31-year-old Serb defeated Del Potro 6-3 7-6(4) 6-3 in three hours and 15 minutes to equal Sampras in joint-third place on the list for the most Grand Slam titles in the history of the men's game, behind Roger Federer (20) and Rafael Nadal (17).

"There is a lot of significance of me being now shoulder to shoulder with Sampras," said Djokovic.

"The first thing I saw related to tennis on the TV was his first or second Wimbledon championship. That inspired me to start playing tennis.

"I grew up playing and thinking that one day I'll be able to do what he does. To actually be here, it's a dream come true."

Djokovic, who also won Wimbledon in July to claim his first major win since he completed his Grand Slam set at 2016 Roland Garros, had an answer to everything del Potro threw at him on Sunday night.

The 2009 US Open champion saw his hefty forehand regularly nullified by Djokovic's stubborn defence, a pattern that was no more evident than during a 20-minute game in the seventh game of the second set that saw the Serb survive three break points to hold for 4-4.

"I was playing at my limit almost all the time, looking for winners," Del Potro admitted. "But [I] couldn't make them because Novak was there almost every time.

"I took the risks with my forehand because it was the only way to beat this kind of player. My mistakes were because of his level.

"Novak is too fast. His defence is good. It is really difficult to beat a player like Novak."

Ashleigh Barty and CoCo Vandeweghe, meanwhile, clinched the title in a thrilling women's doubles final, defeating Kristina Mladenovic and Timea Babos 3-6 7-6(2) 7-6(6) for their first Grand Slam titles, respectively, after a handful of runner-up finishes across doubles mixed doubles between them