Rafael Nadal captured his 19th Grand Slam trophy but needed four hours and 50 minutes to do it as it survived Daniil Medvedev, 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, in their lung-busting championship match of the men’s US Open.
“An amazing final. Seems that I had, more or less, the match under control. One of the most emotional nights of my tennis career,” Nadal said in an Associated Press report.
With the hard-earned win, Nadal is just one Grand Slam title away from tying Roger Federer’s record.
Nadal now has won four titles in the US Open titles, adding his haul in New York to his 12 titles at the French Open, two at Wimbledon and one at the Australian Open.
At 33 years old, Nadal is the oldest male champion at Flushing Meadows since 1970. He’s also the first man to win five majors after turning 30.
