Nadal edges past Medvedev to capture 4th US Open title, his 19th Grand Slam title

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Patna : Second seed Rafael Nadal, 33, Spain, beat the hottest player on the ATP Tour this year and World No 5 Daniil Medvedev, 23, Russia, in a five-set marathon lasting 4 hrs and 50 minutes in the final to capture his 4th U S Open Crown at New York City, USA, and 19th Grand Slam title, just one behind Roger Federer’s 20 Grand Slam title, on S3ptember 9, 2019.

Nadal beat Medvedev  7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 in a dramatic final at Arthur Ashe Stadium, to win his second Grand Slam title this year after French Open in June and 84th career title overall. Federer, Jimmy Connors, and Pete Sampras have won US Open title 5 times each. Novak Djokovic , 32, Serbia, has won 16 Grand Slam titles

Nadal described Medvedev’s performance as amazing after the match. Nadal, who had earlier won the US Open title in 2010, 2013, and 2017, made Medvedev work hard for every point. Medvedev came back strongly into the match after getting two sets down and won the third and fourth set. The fifth set was simply gripping. “I was able to hold my nerves,” Nadal said after the match.

Nadal had also defeated Medvedev in the final of Rogers Cup, an ATP Masters event, on August 11, 2019. Nadal had also reached the final of Australia Open and Wimbledon SFs in 2019. Medvedev has won 50 matches this year to 47 by Nadal. Federer, 38, has won 43 matches this year while Djokovic has won 41.

Medvedev fired 14 Aces in the match to 5 by Nadal. But, the Spaniard won 6 break points to 5 by the Russian. Nadal also won 4 games in a row in the match to 3 by Medvedev, Nadal’s winning percentage both on his and second serve (77% & 65%) was higher than that of Medvedev (65% & 59%). The Spaniard committed 5 double faults to 4 by the Russian. Medvedev won 108 service points in the match to 106 by Nadal. Nadal saved 3 break points in the second game of the fifth set.