by Neel Cheruvu
After winning the French Open in early June, tennis legend Rafael Nadal has captured another Grand Slam in 2019. His fourth US Open title and 19th overall, Nadal had an amazing run on his way to capturing the trophy. He beat former US Open champion Marin Cilic, as well as top-30 players in Diego Schwartzman and Matteo Berrettini. His toughest match, however, was certainly in the finals. After a long and grueling fight against Daniil Medvedev, Nadal outlasted him 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.
Medvedev posed the biggest obstacle on Nadal’s way to becoming a champion. After losing the first 2 sets, Medvedev fought back and won the next two in dramatic fashion. This set up the ever-so-important 5th set in the 2019 US Open. After climbing to an early 5-2 lead, Nadal seemed primed to win the match. However, Medvedev battled back and had a break point that he couldn’t capitalize on at 4-5. Nadal would eventually win that game and, thus, the match.
Nadal is now only one Grand Slam behind Roger Federer and has a chance to tie the record in the 2020 Australian Open. Tying the record of 20 Grand Slams would be huge for Nadal, but he has already solidified himself as one of the greatest the sport of tennis has ever seen.
