Rafael Nadal did it again!

The Spanish legend has an easy stroll in the US Open final to dismiss Kevin Anderson in straight sets and claim his 16th slam.  Even, if Rafa didn’t have to battle that hard to triumph at the Flushing Meadows, this title is outstanding for the fact that Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are the 2 slam winners of 2017. This was unimaginable 1 year ago when both decided to skip the second part of the season to deal with their injuries.

The final

It was clear from the outset that this would not have been an easy day at the office for Kevin Anderson after the South African was struggling to hold his serve in the second and third service game when he had to battle through 6 deuces. Eventually, Anderson fell in the second part of the opening set to a ruthless Rafael Nadal after he lost 5 consecutive games (from 3-2 to 3-6 0-1).

Rafa was putting immense pressure on the South African also because the world no.1 was holding his serve without any problem (the Mallorcan hasn’t conceded a single break point in the entire match).

The second set had a similar script to the first one. Kevin stayed with Rafa for the first 4 games (2-2) to then lose 6 of the following 7 games to face a devastating 3-6 3-6 0-2 deficit. That was too much for the South African as Rafa kept on being more and more aggressive. Finally, Nadal won the match 6-3 6-3 6-4.

The incredible stat

Besides showing an impressive tennis, Rafa was also amazing in an area that is not supposed to be his “forte”, In fact, Nadal won 16 points out fo 16 at the net (match point included).

This is Nadal’s 16th slam. He has won 10 Roland Garros, 1 Australian Open, 2 Wimbledon, and 3 US Open.  The Mallorcan is just 3 slams shy from Roger Federer (19), and he has 2 more majors than Sampras. With This win, the Spaniard has increased his chances of end the year as world no.1.

It’s unbelievable what happened. NADAL

Rafa was elated with his latest success to comment

“Personally, it’s just unbelievable what happened this year. after a couple of years with some troubles, injuries, some moments playing not good.”

Legend.

Goodnight from Flushing Meadows…

Another amazing 2 weeks at the #USOpen.@RafaelNadal 👋🏼🏆 pic.twitter.com/eurbFkggWb

— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 11, 2017