5-set thriller in New York: Nadal triumphs at US Open

When the images from his 19 Grand Slam victories to date were shown on the large video cube in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Rafael Nadal could no longer hold back his tears. On the darkened Center Court, the tennis superstar sat on his chair and buried his face in his hands.

A visibly moved Rafael Nadal. © AP / Charles Krupa

“I actually always try to keep my emotions under control. But at that moment it was impossible,” Nadal said. The 33-year-old Spaniard had previously defeated the Russian Daniil Medvedev in a high-class and dramatic final in 4.50 hours on Sunday evening with 7:5, 6:3, 5:7, 4:6, 6:4 and thus won his 19th Grand Grand Prix. Slam title celebrated. Federer's record within reach Only the Swiss Roger Federer has ever won one of the four most important tournaments in the world. For Nadal it was the second Grand Slam triumph this year. He had previously won the French Open in Paris in June. In New York he triumphed for the fourth time and collected $3,85 million for his success.

“It was an incredible final. “Daniil played incredibly and showed why he is already number four in the world even though he is only 23 years old,” said Nadal. “He has a great future ahead of him and will definitely win some Grand Slam tournaments.” Medvedev showed himself to be a fair loser after the bitter defeat in his first Grand Slam final. “What you have done for our sport is incredible. 100 million children in the world play tennis because of you,” the Russian said to Nadal. “In the third set I was already thinking about what I would say at the award ceremony as a loser.” Daniil Medvedev Nadal had everything under control against Medvedev for two and a half sets. But then the Russian turned around with his back against the wall and forced the favorite into the fifth set. It was the first time in seven years that a final in New York went the full distance and the third-longest final in the tournament's history. “In the third set I was already thinking about what I would say at the award ceremony as a loser,” said Medvedev after the game. Full to capacity: New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium. © APA/getty / CLIVE BRUNSKILL

When it comes to women, the young generation is increasingly pushing the established ones off their thrones, but when it comes to men, the changing of the guard still has to wait a while, even if Medvedev was very close. The winner of the last twelve Grand Slam tournaments was always either Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer. The last champion who did not come from the big three was the Swiss Stan Wawrinka at the US Open 2016. All or nothing from sentence number three Medvedev came to New York as the secret favorite and confirmed his strong form there. He had previously reached the finals in Washington and Montreal and even won the dress rehearsal for the US Open in Cincinnati. Medvedev had already won 50 times before the final this year. Nadal has a lot of confidence in the Russian Daniil Medvedev in the future. © APA/getty / Mike Stobe

Despite an extremely strong performance, he now found his master in Nadal. However, Medvedev did not want to leave the big stage without a fight. When he was a break behind in the third set after losing two sets and everyone including him was expecting a quick end, he suddenly started playing All or Nothing - and was successful. The audience went wild. Nadal wobbled, received a time penalty several times, but he didn't fall.

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5-set thriller in New York: Nadal triumphs at US Open

Rafael Nadal has done it again. Thanks to a huge performance of energy, the Spaniard wins the US Open for the fourth time and continues to chase Roger Federer's Grand Slam record. But the future could belong to a 23-year-old Russian.

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