Nadal beats Medvedev to win 19th Slam: Here're records broken
What's the story
Rafael Nadal defied all odds to beat Daniil Medvedev (7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4) in the final of the US Open 2019 at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing Meadows on Sunday. This is his 19th Grand Slam title, one less than Roger Federer. Notably, with this win, he now has a total of four US Open trophies. Here are the records he broke.
Most 2019 wins
Nadal consolidates second spot in terms of most ATP wins
With this win, Nadal has now won 47 matches in this calendar year so far. He has consolidated the second spot in terms of most ATP wins this year, while the list is led by Medvedev, who has 50 wins. The other men who follow Nadal in the list are Roger Federer with 43 wins, Novak Djokovic with 41 and Stefanos Tsitsipas with 37.
Slams in 30s
Wins most Grand Slams at age of 30+
With this win, Nadal also entered a unique record as he became the player with most Grand Slam titles post the age of 30. Nadal now has five Grand Slam titles after becoming 30, which includes three French Open titles and a couple of US Open titles. He has gone past the likes of Federer, Djokovic, Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall (four each).
Fresh opponent win
Wins sixth Grand Slam final while facing a fresh opponent
Nadal faced a fresh first-time Grand Slam finalist for the third year in a row, which he interestingly won. As a result, Nadal has now won six of his seven Grand Slam finals while facing a fresh opponent. His only loss to date, against a fresh Grand Slam final opponent, was against Stan Wawrinka, against whom he lost in the 2014 Australian Open.
Most US titles
Joint second most US Open titles in Open Era
With his unprecedented 19th Grand Slam title, Nadal has now become the joint second-most US Open title winner in the Open Era. While it is his fourth US Open title, he has tied himself with John McEnroe. The list of most titles in the Open Era lies with Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, and Federer, winning five titles each.
Match report
How did the match pan out?
Nadal started off in a dominating fashion, as he won the opening two sets 7-5, 6-3. However, he had to fight him off in the opening set. Nonetheless, Medvedev was reluctant to give up and made a strong comeback, winning the next two 7-5, 6-4. The final set, however, saw Nadal going for the kill as he smartly won 6-4.