Rafael Nadal clinched his third US Open title on 10 September at Arthur Ashe Stadium. He defeated his rival Kevin Anderson by a straight set win and claimed his 16 Grand Slam championship title.
It was the seventh time when thirty above players faced each other in the Open era. But Nadal made the tournament more historic by winning his second Grand Slam of this season. He conquered and took the victory in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
The match was a ring-a-bell to the tennis world, as 2013 Us Open had witnessed the same No. 1 Nadal to claim his victory over Novak Djokovic. At Flushing Meadows, the Spaniard triumphed and ranked second on the list of top grand slam winners. To equalize the title count with Swiss legend Roger Federer, the Spaniard needs to win only three more majors.
Although the South-African player tried to defend and fight back, the Spaniard did not give him the time to set his own pace.
"It's been a very special two weeks for me but before I talk about me, I want to say congrats to Kevin. He's a great example for a lot of kids and the rest of the tour to come back better than ever," Nadal said after the match as quoted by ESPN.
"For me, personally it's unbelievable. After a couple of years with some injury problems, it has been very emotional since the beginning of the season. Since the Australian Open, I've been playing a very high level of tennis. Winning here in New York gives me great energy because the crowd is unbelievable. They make me feel so happy," the Spaniard said.
"Probably without him, I would never be playing tennis, and it's great I had somebody like him pushing me all the time. I think because he was strong and had great motivation to practice with me since I was a kid, I have been able to get through all these problems I've had in my career in terms of injuries. That makes me stronger, and I just can say thank you very much to him, because, for sure, he's one of the most important people in my life," the 31-year-old said about his uncle, Toni Nadal.
Anderson defeated Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta and American ace Sam Querrey in quarter-final and semi-final match at US Open. But he failed to dominate Nadal in the final and ended the match with forty unforced errors.
"Rafa is one of the greatest ambassadors in our sport, so congrats to him, It's been an amazing two weeks for me. To make my first final of a Grand Slam has really been special. I can take a lot of positive from this summer. A lot of emotions to deal with. I was up against a pretty good opponent today. I'll continue working hard to give myself more opportunities. I'll take it a day at a time and I'm really pleased with how things turned out here," Anderson told ESPN in a post match interview.
"I know we're the same age but I feel like I've been watching you my whole life. You're one of the toughest competitors in the game and one of the greatest ambassadors of our sport.This isn't the result I always wanted but I'll keep fighting and I'll be back," the South-African ace said while praising the Spaniard as quoted by BBC.
