U.S. Open 2019 Men's Singles Champion:
Rafael Nadal
Photo courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr Page - Rafael Nadal: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/5756335239
Yes, it was surprisingly tight, even though it did not look or feel like it would be after Nadal took the first two sets, and then went up a break in the third. At that point, it looked like this was simply going to be a cakewalk, like Nadal was easily going to capture his 19th career Grand Slam championship, and his fourth U.S. Open title overall, to boot.
But things changed on a dime in the men's final on Sunday and, ultimately, Rafa had to pull everything that he had out of his hat to win this match that, not long before, had seemed very much in the bag. Suddenly, Daniil Medvedev began to show not a little bit of fight, underscoring exactly why he had reached this U.S. Open final.
Ultimately, Nadal won 7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, in a back and forth, marathon affair that took a lot out of both players, physically. The match lasted well over four hours, and both players played well, and had some extremely impressive highlights.
Ultimately, Nadal won 7-6, 6-4, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, in a back and forth, marathon affair that took a lot out of both players, physically. The match lasted well over four hours, and both players played well, and had some extremely impressive highlights.
Medvedev was no slouch, and he had gotten past Dimitrov in the semifinals, and former U.S. Open champion Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinal. He had also had an incident earlier in the tournament when the fans turned against him, making Nadal the clear crowd favorite for the final.
As the match wore on, however, and as Medvedev began to seriously push and challenge Nadal to the max, all of that began to change. The crowd began to applaud some of his great moves, as well as clearly admiring the heart, courage, and stamina that he was showing in constantly beating back the physicality of Nadal, as well as the overwhelming odds stacked against him once he found himself down so badly.
In the end, however, only one man could win, and it wound up being the man that most people expected, although he really had to sweat out the win.
In the end, however, only one man could win, and it wound up being the man that most people expected, although he really had to sweat out the win.
It was an amazing match. Frankly, it might have been the very best U.S. Open men's final match that I have ever seen. The two men tested and battled each other, fighting for every point, and seemingly every free inch of space on the court to get it past the other and win any given point.
One cannot help but wonder, however, if Medvedev had allowed nerves to get him early on, and if the match might have had a different outcome had he overcome that earlier.
And also again, we see another calendar year – the third straight calendar year, in fact – where one of the “Big Three” of tennis winds up winning each of the Grand Slam events. Federer and Nadal split the winnings in 2017. Federer won last year’s Australian, and Nadal won last year’s French Open, before Djokovic enjoyed a dominant end to the year by winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He followed that up by winning at the Australian Open to start this year, but it was Nadal, of course, who won again at Roland Garros. Djokovic took Wimbledon, but now, Nadal gets another U.S. Open title.
It also means that one of the “Big Three” has basically owned the number one ranking during that stretch, more or less, as well. Nadal took the top spot in 2017, and finished the year as the world’s number one ranked man. Federer held it briefly in 2018, but Djokovic’s rise meant that he took it, and ended last year with the number one ranking. He held onto it for quite some time this year, until Nadal’s brilliant U.S. Open tournament allowed him to retake the number one ranking, and he is now the favorite to win the number one ranking at year’s end.
Most likely, Medvedev will now enjoy a bump up in the rankings, although Nadal’s fantastic finish in the Grand Slam calendar year means that he will now rise to the world number one ranking once again.
And also again, we see another calendar year – the third straight calendar year, in fact – where one of the “Big Three” of tennis winds up winning each of the Grand Slam events. Federer and Nadal split the winnings in 2017. Federer won last year’s Australian, and Nadal won last year’s French Open, before Djokovic enjoyed a dominant end to the year by winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He followed that up by winning at the Australian Open to start this year, but it was Nadal, of course, who won again at Roland Garros. Djokovic took Wimbledon, but now, Nadal gets another U.S. Open title.
It also means that one of the “Big Three” has basically owned the number one ranking during that stretch, more or less, as well. Nadal took the top spot in 2017, and finished the year as the world’s number one ranked man. Federer held it briefly in 2018, but Djokovic’s rise meant that he took it, and ended last year with the number one ranking. He held onto it for quite some time this year, until Nadal’s brilliant U.S. Open tournament allowed him to retake the number one ranking, and he is now the favorite to win the number one ranking at year’s end.
Most likely, Medvedev will now enjoy a bump up in the rankings, although Nadal’s fantastic finish in the Grand Slam calendar year means that he will now rise to the world number one ranking once again.
Medvedev was playing in his first Grand Slam final ever. By contrast, Nadal was playing in his 27th Grand Slam final ever, behind only Roger Federer at 31 Grand Slam finals reached for the most of any man in history, and two ahead of the other member of the "Big Three," Novak Djokovic.
Nadal, by virtue of this run to the U.S. Open championship, now takes a sizable lead in the race for the year end number one ranking over now number two Djokovic. Nadal had entered the tournament fairly well behind Djokovic, but with his title, coupled with Djokovic's surprisingly early exit (due in part to injury, it should be noted), Nadal now looks like the odds on favorite to capture the year end number one ranking, which would be the fifth time in his career that he would have done so, tying Federer and Djokovic, should he manage it. Pete Sampras still holds the record for most years ended with the number one ranking with six, which he managed to do from 1993-1998.
Hard to believe that each of these three men are well over 30 years of age. Federer is 37 years old, Nadal is 33 years old, and Djokovic is 32 years old. There have been many predictions about how their reign of dominance surely must end soon. But after three straight calendar years of essentially teaming up to horde Grand Slam titles, literally shutting every other male player out of Grand Slam wins, they just keep proving people wrong. Surely, at some point, that reign will end. But there is no obvious reason, looking at things right now, for why it might not continue along at this pace. The commentators were saying that Nadal has already won more titles past the age of 30 than anyone else ever has. And clearly, he still looks very, very strong, like he will stick around among the elites for a few years to come yet.
Hard to believe that each of these three men are well over 30 years of age. Federer is 37 years old, Nadal is 33 years old, and Djokovic is 32 years old. There have been many predictions about how their reign of dominance surely must end soon. But after three straight calendar years of essentially teaming up to horde Grand Slam titles, literally shutting every other male player out of Grand Slam wins, they just keep proving people wrong. Surely, at some point, that reign will end. But there is no obvious reason, looking at things right now, for why it might not continue along at this pace. The commentators were saying that Nadal has already won more titles past the age of 30 than anyone else ever has. And clearly, he still looks very, very strong, like he will stick around among the elites for a few years to come yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment