Delivering one of his most dramatic major final performances, Rafael Nadal captured his 19th career Grand Slam title Sunday by winning his fourth US Open, outlasting Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.
The 33-year-old Spanish left-hander moved one shy of Roger Federer’s all-time men’s record 20 Grand Slam triumphs and became the second-oldest New York champion in the Open era after Ken Rosewall in 1970 at age 35.
It took a supreme effort from the Spanish maestro, who nearly became the first player to drop the final after leading by two sets since Ted Schroeder in 1949 before winning a near five-hour thriller.
“This victory means a lot,” Nadal said. “And the way it happened. It was hard to control the nerves. The nerves were so high after having the match almost under control.”
In case you missed the match, you can watch it here:
(With inputs from AFP)