Less than month ago, Rafael Nadal played Daniil Medvedev the Rogers Cup final in their first meeting. The Spaniard went on to crush the 23-year-old 6-3, 6-0 to defend a hard-court title for the first time in his illustrious career.

Now the two will meet again in the US Open final. It is the second seed’s third Grand Slam final of 2019 and 27th overall while the fifth seed is playing his first Major final.

But despite his inexperience at this level, the player Nadal will face in New York is a different Medvedev than the one in Montreal. The 23-year-old is almost a grizzled veteran after his journey to the final.

In the four weeks since the final demolition in Montreal, Medvedev has won his first Masters 1000 title beating Novak Djokovic. At Flushing Meadows, he has battled cramps, a quadriceps injury, a Grand Slam champion, hostile crowd and his own meltdown to reach his fourth straight final.

With 22 matches on the North American hardcourts – losing only the final to Nadal and the Washington Open final to Nick Kyrgios – his hot streak makes the young Russian a prime candidate to break the Big Three hegemony at Grand Slams.

But the catch is that he is up against a guy who is, even 14 years after winning his first Grand Slam as a teenager, finding a way to peak against the ‘Next Gen’.

Rafael Nadal, who was worried about finishing his season after withdrawing from Indian Wells and losing three clay court matches, is the oldest man since Rod Laver to reach semi-finals or better at all Majors in a year. And every time he wins another match, he just raises his level. The task then for Medvedev is not just to match the relentless player on the other side of the net, but to put behind the Montreal thrashing and outlast a confident Nadal.

Medvedev’s journey to maturity

In the last 10 days in New York, Medvedev has showed facets of his game and personality that have earned him both new fans and critics. More importantly, his exploits in the last one month and ability to churn out positive results has shown his increased maturity.

Before the tournament, there were seemingly equal number of people who saw him as a dark horse and a bust after three straight finals. He stayed true to both sides: in the second round, he beat Hugo Dellian despite cramps, in the third he almost went down to an enterprising Feliciano Lopez, in the fourth he suffered a quadriceps injury and considered quitting before remarkably mixing his strategy to play ‘ugly’ and beat a flu-affected Stan Wawrinka. Through it, he invited the wrath of the crowd and a heavy penalty after showing them the finger, trolling them in his on-court interview and eventually apologising for his behavior.

But in the semi-final against Grigor Dimitrov, it was his newly-honed big-match temperament that came to the fore as he stayed in points he had no business winning to clinch the match 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3. But the straight sets scoreline does not do justice to the intense, high-quality match that the Russian had to dig deep to win. The lung-busting baseline rallies were punctuated with moments of magic, showcasing the full range of strokes the players possessed. But it was the Russian who won the big points.

He had to save a set-point in the first set, fight back from 0-2 down and parry his own nerves in the tiebreak to take the lead after an hour of punishing tennis. The second was just as long and relentless but when he got a look in at set point, Medvedev didn’t blink and snatched the advantage.

The highlight was the ninth game of the second set – a marathon game of magic tennis. Medvedev held after four deuces and the sensational level of his game then knocked some wind out of Dimitrov’s sails.

He may have not endeared himself to many some of his antics – sarcastic gestures to his opponent and his box in moments of frustration – but Medvedev showed that the negative energy from the crowd does not actually bother him anymore.

This trait will be crucial when he takes on the universally loved Nadal in the final.

On-fire Nadal

With the way the Spaniard has played in New York, there seems to be no weakness in his hardcourt game. He is a 100% fit, unlike last year, and has dialed up the intensity very early in the week.

In the match against first-time semi-finalist Matteo Berrettini, he was his usual forceful self from beyond the baseline but could not get a look-on on the Italian’s serve despite eight chances. In the Tiebreak, he had nervy moments when he was down 0-4 and 2-5 but with the classic ‘matador’ bullishness, he fought back. Once he crossed into the second, there was no doubt about the result as he eventually converted his 10th break point and raced home in straight sets.

The 33-year-old now has the chance to become the first man in the Open Era to win five Grand Slams after turning 30. Medvedev, who is youngest Major finalist since Djokovic in 2010, will look to be the first male player born in 1990s to win a Slam.

But age will have nothing to do in the final which will most certainly be an insanely physical battle between two players in sublime form. Medvedev (50) and Nadal (46) lead the ATP Tour in wins this season and are the two North American Masters 1000 champions.

Baseline punching and grueling rallies won Mevedev his semi-final after clever mixing of shots gave him the quarters win. Neither could work against Nadal who will always make you play that extra ball. The 33-year-old seems as fit as ever after retiring from the US Open semi-finals last year while Medvedev doesn’t look as gassed out as he did in the earlier matches. The Spaniard can outplay younger opponents with ease, as the Russian knows well, and has dropped just the one set in New York so far.

But Medvedev could do well to take a cue from the Australian Open where the world No 2 decimated Stefanos Tsitsipas before being dominated by Djokovic in the final. If he can outlast Nadal in rallies and then dictate points, he will have a shot at history. But if he even gives an inch, there will be no stopping Nadal from winning Grand Slam No 19.