Rafael Nadal won his 19th Grand Slam title after propelling himself to victory at the USOpen final with the help of this backhand, cross-court winner to secure a crucial 5th set break against Daniil Medvedev.
Rafael Nadal, 33, won 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 against the fifth seed in New York. Nadal, seeded second, was cruising at two sets and a breakup, only for the 23-year-old Russian to force a decider. Medvedev held Nadal for four hours and 49 minutes, which is four minutes shy of the longest US Open final.
The Russian who had been booed by the crowds earlier in the tournament heard his name loudly chanted by many as he threatened to complete an extraordinary comeback. Although he was unable to achieve Stan Wawrinka's feat of 2016 of winning the US open outside Nadal, Federer and Serbia's world number one Novak Djokovic.
Nadal's victory has, however, moved him within one of 38-year-old Swiss rival, Roger Federer's all-time leading tally of men's Grand Slam victories.
Emotional Nadal said It has been one of the most emotional nights of his tennis career.
"This victory is so important for me, especially as the match became more and more difficult. I was able to hold the nerves. They were so high. It was a crazy match and I'm just very emotional.
"It was an amazing final. Daniil is only 23-years-old and the way he was able to fight and change the rhythm of the match was amazing. He will have many more opportunities like this."
"The last three hours of the match were very, very intense, very tough mentally and physically, too. The crowd has been as always amazing, all these facts that make the moment super special. It was an unforgettable moment. At the same time, Daniil created this moment, too. The way that he fought, the way that he played, he is a champion. Just well done for him. I really believe that he will have many more chances.
"The way that the match became very dramatic at the end, that makes this day unforgettable, part of my history of this sport. I'm just very happy. This trophy means everything to me today."
