Nadal wins third U.S. Open title
He earns 16th Grand Slam tournament win
Rafael Nadal lived up to his reputation as the world No. 1 player and champion for the ages when he picked up his 16th career Grand Slam tournament trophy in the U.S. Open on Sunday.
Nadal was never in danger during his 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 victory against the 28th-seeded Kevin Anderson of South Africa in the 2-hour, 27-minute match. The Spaniard now stands at 16-7 in Grand Slam finals, and this marks the fourth time in his career he’s taken home at least two Grand Slam trophies in a season.
Fists clenched and arms extended in the air flashing his muscles, Nadal beamed a huge smile in victory.
“Of course, very special two weeks for me,” Nadal said. “Personally it’s just unbelievable what happened this year to me after a few years’ troubles, injuries and not playing good. ... This is one of (the) events that brings me to high energy, the crowd here make me so, so happy.”
And typical of his personality to worry about others, Nadal used the award ceremony to send his best wishes to those who have suffered from the earthquake in Mexico and from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, saying, “All the best to the victims. ... We can’t control what is happening.”
Nadal made it three U.S. Open titles in his treasure chest with the others picked up during final defeats of Novak Djokovic in 2010 and ’13.
When Nadal won the Open in 2010 as a 24-year-old, he became the youngest man in the Open era to complete a career Grand Slam in having won at least one title from each of the majors.
Having missed out on much of the second half of last season nursing a wrist injury, the 31year-old Nadal has been breathtaking this season, claiming two of the four Grand Slam titles. He won a 10th French Open title in June to become the only man or woman in the Open era to score 10 titles in the same Grand Slam.
Before this U.S. Open, Nadal hadn’t won a hardcourt title since the 2014 tournament in Doha, Qatar, which is always played the first week of each season.
Surprisingly, it was 36-yearold Roger Federer who captured the other two majors this season — the Australian Open with a five-set victory against Nadal, who initially was up a break in the final set, and at Wimbledon.
Not to take anything away from Anderson, the first South African to reach a final in New York in the Open era, but expectations weren’t high for him to pull off an upset. This was the fifth time he’s played Nadal, and he’s won one set in any of their matches.
Nadal was able to exploit Anderson’s weaknesses. While the South African can boast a huge serve — he posted 10 aces to one for Nadal — his movement around the court is suspect and he’s not skilled at volleying.
Nadal returned to the No. 1 ranking Aug. 21 for the fourth time in his career and will continue to hold on to the spot to increase his total of 144 weeks in the position.