Rafael Nadal defeats Daniil Medvedev in marathon match to win 19th Grand Slam
Rafael Nadal was not going to be denied. Nadal continued his dominance in the US Open on Sunday, defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Nadal had been unstoppable the entire event. The 33-year-old Spaniard came into the final on a 10-match winning streak. He had only dropped one set during the US Open before taking on the fifth-seeded Medvedev.
It looked like more of the same for Nadal initially, as he took the first two sets from Medvedev. But the 23-year-old Medvedev fought back, taking the next two sets.
Going 5️⃣!!!@DaniilMedwed squeezes out the 4th set 6-4 and we are headed to a 5th set in this epic final!#USOpen pic.twitter.com/3slCTGCGRx
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2019
Nadal jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fifth set, but Russia’s Medvedev once again battled back. Medvedev pushed it to 5-4 before Nadal was able to finally finish him off.
The entire match took nearly five hours to complete. An exhausted Nadal laid down on the court following the match-winning point.
5 sets in nearly 5 hours...
An EPIC way to win your 4th title in Flushing Meadows!
🙌 @rafaelnadal 🙌#USOpen pic.twitter.com/dn3Krln0m1— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 9, 2019
Though Medvedev lost, he made quite the name for himself, entering the US Open as a No. 5 seed while having never advanced past the fourth round.
During his win over Spain’s Feliciano López, Medvedev drew boos from fans after throwing his racquet and arguing with a chair umpire. Medvedev responded by flipping off the crowd. Medvedev also encouraged the crowd to boo him even more. After the match, Medvedev trolled the fans, saying their boos helped him win the match.
The win gives Nadal his 19th Grand Slam singles title. Roger Federer holds the record with 20. The win also marks the fourth time Nadal has won the U.S. Open.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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