For the 16th and last time in NY on Sunday night “Uncle Toni” sat in the front row of Rafael Nadal’s box as a coach and watched his charge win a grand-slam title.
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By winning two major titles this year Nadal’s victory means that he and Federer who also has two major wins this year have created added distance to the grand slams all-time title list.
Nadal was offered to 31 years, with the authority of its 16th title in a Grand Slam, the second of the year after Roland Garros in June – for the tenth time! – and his third in NY, after 2010 and 2013.
World number 32 Anderson was the lowest-ranked US Open men’s finalist since the ATP rankings began 44 years ago. It was also just the latest Slam for the “Big 3” of men’s tennis – Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. There were many key moments that enabled Nadal to display some of his most awesome and blistering tennis in a mostly comfortable three sets victory. In my assessment, his 10 French Open crowns (the Paris major is the calendar’s toughest event) is one of the sporting world’s most incredible achievements. The reality of this season, however, is that Federer and Nadal have earned their status as the two greatest players in the history of the sport.
Nadal committed just 11 unforced errors in his 23rd major final.”We are the same age but I feel I’ve been watching you my whole life”.
“Nadal’s playing better than he ever has”, Wilander, a US Open champion in 1988, said. He never had to venture into any fifth set this fortnight, and he romped enough that the three players who did take one set each from him – Taro Daniel, Leonardo Mayer and Juan Martin del Potro – might take slight heart.
THE US Open was minus Andy Murray but his big brother Jamie continues to motor on after winning the mixed title in NY. A number of players have made compelling progress in their respective careers, including Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev, but Federer and Nadal continued their dominance.
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But he didn’t do that, instead focussing all his energies on recovering from his injury, returning to full fitness and giving his career another shot ― in the full knowledge that if it went badly, he would have risked damaging his legacy as one of the greatest sportsmen of the modern era and being forced to end on a sour note. I just do it my way. It had been three long years since Nadal had won a title on a hardcourt, having lost eight finals in a row on this surface during that period. Not only is she now a bona-fide grand- slam champion, but she may now be the No.1 commercial entity in women’s tennis. Whether you’re a fan of the Nadal’s or not, you can’t help but admire the run that these two have had and the fight Nadal presents in every single match.
