Entering the US Open, first-placed Rafael Nadal led Novak Djokovic by just 140 points in the ATP Race To London, representing the battle for year-end World No. 1. By claiming his fourth trophy in Flushing Meadows, Nadal has significantly increased his advantage.

The 19-time Grand Slam champion extended his lead to 1,960 points, putting himself in prime position to finish the season No. 1 for the fifth time in his career. If the Spaniard accomplishes the feat, he will join ‘Big Three’ rivals Djokovic and Roger Federer, as well as Jimmy Connors, in a tie for the second-most year-end No. 1 finishes. Pete Sampras holds the record of six year-end No. 1 finishes (achieved in consecutive years from 1993-1998).

“If I am able to be No. 1 doing [it] my way, great. But I always say the same: today it’s not my main goal. Of course, it’s great to be in that fight,” Nadal said. “But for me personally, it’s not really a fight. I just try be competitive the weeks that I need to compete, or the weeks that I want to compete… If I am able to play well until the end of the season, I’m going to have my chances. That going to be amazing.” 

Most Year-End No. 1 Finishes

View ATP Race To London Standings

The Race is nowhere near over, though, with two months remaining in the season and plenty of points up for grabs. Just last year, Djokovic claimed 2,600 points after the US Open. At the two remaining ATP Masters 1000 events — the Rolex Shanghai Masters and the Rolex Paris Masters — and the prestigious Nitto ATP Finals, a player can add as many as 3,500 points to their total.

Nadal finished as the year-end No. 1 player in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2017. In the latter three, Nadal won the US Open. Each time he has triumphed a the US Open — in 2010, 2013 and 2017 — the Spaniard has gone on to finish the season atop the ATP Rankings.

Rafael Nadal has drawn level with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic on 54 ‘Big Titles’ each by capturing his fourth US Open title on Sunday.

The Spanish superstar was emotional at the end of his epic five-set victory over Daniil Medvedev at Flushing Meadows on Sunday night, when the big screen showed highlights of all of his 19 Grand Slam singles championship crowns — second only to all-time leader Federer (20).

Afterwards, Nadal admitted, “[To] see all the things [that] I went through, [to] be able to still be here is so special for me. I went through some tough moments, physically especially. When you have physical issues, then mentally things became much more difficult. The emotions have been there watching all the success, all the moments that came to my mind in that moment.”

More From The US Open
Nadal Claims Epic Five-Set Win For Fourth Title
Nadal: ‘This Trophy Means Everything To Me’
Nadal At Net: Rafa Finds A New Way To Win Title

Nadal’s fourth ‘Big Title’ of the 2019 season — Roland Garros (d. Thiem), the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome (d. Djokovic), the Coupe Rogers in Montreal (d. Medvedev) and the US Open — also draws him level with Djokovic for conversion rate in Grand Slam championships, Nitto ATP Finals or ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.

Incredibly, both Nadal and Djokovic have won 54 ‘Big Titles’ from 182 events for a conversion rate of 3.4. Federer, at 38 years of age, has also won 54 ‘Big Titles’ but played in more of these events (231) and has a conversion rate of 4.3.

Djokovic, who this week ties Jimmy Connors for third-most weeks all-time at No. 1 (268), has lifted three ‘Big Titles’ at the Australian Open (d. Nadal), the Mutua Madrid Open (d. Tsitsipas) and at Wimbledon (d. Federer). Federer, who lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the US Open quarter-finals, won his fourth crown at the Miami Open presented by Itau in March.

Current and Former Champions’ Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

* Becker’s four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg’s three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang’s one Grand Slam title came before 1990.

Matteo Berrettini has moved into contention for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in London from 10-17 November, after a sensational run to the US Open semi-finals.

The Italian has vaulted from 17th position to ninth (2,160) in the 2019 ATP Race To London, only 20 points behind Kei Nishikori (2,180). The 23-year-old Berrettini has enjoyed a breakthrough year with two ATP Tour titles at the MercedesCup in Stuttgart (d. Auger-Aliassime) and the Hungarian Open in Budapest (d. Krajinovic).

Alexander Zverev will be working hard for a chance to defend his Nitto ATP Finals title, following a run to the US Open fourth round, but he still has work to do if he wishes to compete at the season finale.

The German star produced his best performance at Flushing Meadows in five appearances, losing out to Diego Schwartzman, and added 180 points to sit in 10th position. This season, the 22-year-old has won one ATP Tour title at the Banque Eric Sturdza Geneva Open (d. Jarry), finished runner-up at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel presentado por HSBC (l. to Kyrgios) and reached the Roland Garros quarter-finals for the second consecutive year.

Incredibly, there are four players — Berrettini (2,160 points), Zverev (2,120), David Goffin (2,080) and Gael Monfils (2,080) — are all within 100 points of eighth-placed Nishikori (2,180), who is just 170 points behind Roberto Bautista Agut in seventh position (2,350).

Additionally, first-round exits at Flushing Meadows for Stefanos Tsitsipas (sixth place) and Bautista Agut (seventh place), who are both bidding to qualify for the The O2 in London for the first time, have ensured that the final two months of the regular ATP Tour season will be fascinating.

View Latest ATP Race To London

US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev, who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time on 4 September, ended the summer North American hard-court swing with a 20-3 match record, to move up one spot to fourth position (4,805). The Russian is now almost 1,000 points clear of fifth-placed Dominic Thiem (3,845), who lost in the first round in New York City and continues to fight for a place in London for the fourth consecutive year.

The battle for year-end No. 1 has also intensified after Rafael Nadal captured his fourth US Open crown, which marked the 19th major singles championship of his career. Nadal led Djokovic (7,265) by 140 points coming into the tournament, but the Spaniard has since pushed the gap to 1,960 points. Nadal, who will next compete at the Laver Cup and then the Rolex Shanghai Masters, finished year-end No. 1 in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2017.

Want to win the 2019 US Open final? You better serve and volley.

Rafael Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4 in four hours and 50 minutes, with a combined 49 serve-and-volley points naturally occurring from both players to counter each other’s ruthless baseline patterns of play.

When push came to shove in the deciding fifth set, Nadal served and volleyed seven times, winning six (86%) of those points. Overall, Nadal served and volleyed a jaw-dropping 20 times in the final, winning 17 (85%) points. When all seemed equal from the back of the court, the Spaniard cleverly decided to take the battle forward, and reaped the rewards of his aggressive net rushing tactics.

The following breakdown identifies just how dominant Nadal’s serve-and-volley strategy was in such a closely contested final.

Rafael Nadal: US Open Final Points Won
• Baseline Points Won = 47.0% (96/204)
• Net Points Won = 77.2% (51/66)
• Serve & Volley Points Won = 85% (17/20)

Nadal had only served and volleyed five times in five matches to the final, winning all of those points. With Medvedev consistently returning so many crushing baseline shots the Spaniard threw at him, it made perfect sense to move the battle forward to the front of the court to mine a critical advantage in the final.

How did Medvedev answer Nadal’s foray’s forward? By also dominating at the front of the court himself.

Daniil Medvedev: US Open Final Points Won
• Baseline Points Won = 39% (75/194)
• Net Points Won = 68% (50/74)
• Serve & Volley Points Won = 76% (22/29)

To the final, Medvedev only served and volleyed five times – all in the first three rounds – winning four of those points. He massively ratcheted up his aggression at the front of the court in the final against Nadal, winning 22 points serving and volleying against the Spaniard, including winning eight of 12 (67%) in the fifth set.

The average rally length in the final was 5.45 shots, which was the longest of any match Nadal played to the final.

Rafael Nadal: Average Rally Length
• Rd 1 vs. J. Millman = 5.1 shots
• Rd 2 vs. T. Kokkinakis W/O
• Rd 3 vs. H. Chung = 4.6 shots
• Rd 4 vs. M. Cilic = 3.7 shots
• Qtr vs. D. Schwartzman = 5.3 shots
• Semi vs. M. Berrettini = 4.1 shots
• Final vs. D. Medvedev = 5.5 shots

So why did Nadal and Medvedev combine to serve and volley 49 times in the final when they had only combined to serve and volley 10 times (5 Nadal / 5 Medvedev) through to the final?

The answer is simple. Baseline pressure of the highest order.

Nadal was constantly under attack from the back of the court in the final against Medvedev, only winning 47 per cent (96/204) of points from the back of the court. The final against Medvedev was the only match that the Spaniard dipped below 50 per cent with baseline points won in any match for the past two weeks in New York.

The biggest takeaway from the final is that there were 49 combined serve-and-volley points from two of the strongest baseline players in the game, who combined to win 61 per cent (30/49) of their points immediately rushing the net behind a serve. If you can’t craft an advantage from the back of the court, the front of the court always remains a viable option.

A LOOK BACK
Cassis Open Provence (Cassis, France): To say Jo-Wilfried Tsonga turned in an efficient week in Cassis would be an understatement. The Frenchman did not drop a set all tournament, culminating in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Dudi Sela for the title on Sunday. At just 43 minutes, it was the shortest completed final in ATP Challenger Tour history.

At the age of 34, Tsonga is targeting a return to his Top 10 form in his comeback from a knee injury. The World No. 65 has now won two titles on home soil this year, adding a Challenger crown in Cassis to his ATP 250 triumph at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier.

ATP Tour & ATP Challenger Tour Champions In 2019

AON Open Challenger (Genova, Italy): Sunday was a day that Lorenzo Sonego will never forget. In fact, neither will anyone who attended the final in Genova. Sonego successfully defended his crown at the prestigious clay-court Challenger, surviving 20-year-old Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(6) in two hours and 46 minutes.

But it was the drama of the day that will be talked about for years to come at the Valletta Cambiaso Park. After a five-hour rain delay, the championship finally kicked off just before midnight local time. After a hard-fought, high-octane battle, Sonego would eventually raise his arms in triumph at 1:29am. Not only did he fight off four break points at 3-4 in the third set, but he stormed back from 0/4 down in the deciding tie-break.

“It’s a great moment for me, for my career,” said Sonego. “To win the same tournament in the same place is not easy. I like being here in Genova and I love this tournament.”

World No. 49 Sonego is the first player to retain the Genova title in the 17-year history of the tournament. In going back-to-back, he joins Taylor Fritz (Newport Beach), Gregoire Barrere (Lille) and Pablo Andujar (Alicante) as repeat champions on the Challenger circuit this year.

Scenes at 1:30am ?

After a five-hour ?️ delay and nearly three hours on court, Lorenzo Sonego retains his Genova title 62 46 76(6).@challengergenoa pic.twitter.com/soJnAdIgtJ

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) September 8, 2019

Oracle Challenger Series – New Haven (New Haven, Connecticut, USA): Men’s professional tennis returned to New Haven for the first time since 2010, as Tommy Paul clinched the title at the inaugural Oracle Challenger Series event on the campus of Yale University. From 2005-10, the city hosted the Pilot Pen International, an ATP 250 event, and this week it welcomed the Challenger circuit for the first time.

Paul streaked to his biggest title without dropping a set, capped with a 6-3, 6-3 win over countryman Marcos Giron on Sunday. The 22-year-old American will crack the Top 100 with the victory, his third on the ATP Challenger Tour and second this year. Also the champion on the clay of Sarasota, he rises 22 spots to a career-high No. 92 in the ATP Rankings.

Jinan Open (Jinan, China): China has its newest Challenger champion. His name is Zhang Zhizhen. At the age of 22, the Shanghai native claimed his maiden title on home soil in Jinan. He triumphed 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 over Go Soeda on Sunday, marking the conclusion of a magical week.

Zhang, an unseeded wild card, was sitting at No. 397 in the ATP Rankings when he entered the week in Jinan. He would rise a staggering 170 spots to a career-high No. 227, becoming the fourth Chinese winner in Challenger history. All four have come in the past four years, with Wu Yibing, Zhang Ze and Wu Di the previous champions.

A LOOK AHEAD
A total of six tournaments in three continents highlight this week’s slate. Guido Andreozzi is the defending champion at the Pekao Szczecin Open in Szczecin, Poland, with Albert Ramos-Vinolas, Marco Cecchinato and Philipp Kohlschreiber leading the charge.

At the 32nd edition of the Amex-Istanbul Challenger, Ugo Humbert leads the pack along with Marius Copil and Denis Istomin. And at the 29th edition of the Copa Sevilla, reigning titlist Kimmer Coppejans returns alongside top seed Jaume Munar.

In Shanghai, the Chinese swing continues with Prajnesh Gunneswaran leading the charge, while in Cary, North Carolina, Tommy Paul looks to go back-to-back on home soil. Andreas Seppi is the top seed there.

And in Banja Luka, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Robin Haase is the top seed, with Sumit Nagal also in the field. Just two weeks ago, Nagal battled Roger Federer on Arthur Ashe Stadium at the US Open, taking the first set in his Grand Slam debut.

Rafael Nadal has shown plenty of emotions throughout his legendary 18-year ATP Tour career, but they’ve rarely included tears. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after the Spaniard prevailed in an epic US Open final on Sunday over Daniil Medvedev, with the 33-year-old sobbing in a mixture of delight and exhaustion when he clinched his fourth title in New York.

The tears even continued during the on-court ceremony. Nadal was overcome by emotion once more when a special video montage was shown on the jumbo screen that highlighted his past triumphs. He’s worked tirelessly throughout his career to overcome difficult injuries and painful defeats, but hadn’t seen the fruits of those efforts in one sitting until that moment.

“In some way that’s good [to] see all the things I went through. Being able to still be here is so special for me,” Nadal said. “I went through some tough moments, physically especially. When you have physical issues, then mentally things became much more difficult.

“The emotions were there watching all the success, all the moments… I tried to hold the emotion, but at some moments it was impossible. I’m just very happy. This trophy means everything to me today.”

Read More: How Rafa Beat Daniil

When a right knee injury forced Nadal to retire from last year’s US Open semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro and ultimately shut down his season, he remained unflinchingly positive. He applied the same attitude when his right knee also forced him to withdraw from his BNP Paribas Open semi-final this year against Roger Federer. Nadal shifted priorities and put his efforts into recovery, focussing only on what he could control.

“I needed to adapt my game to my problems and to my goals,” Nadal said. “When you lose things, you need to add another things to keep being competitive.”

Positivity his paid off for Nadal. He’s riding a 10-match winning streak and prevailed in 27 of his past 28 matches. The 33-year-old also has a hefty 1,690 point lead over Novak Djokovic in the ATP Race to London.

Although Nadal is currently on track to finish as year-end No. 1 for the fifth time, he’s remaining typically in the moment. He’ll compete next at Laver Cup before heading to Asia for the Rolex Shanghai Masters. But while Nadal can certainly pick up more ATP Tour titles this season if he maintains his current level, nearly two decades on Tour has enabled him to roll with whatever comes his way.

“You can’t predict what’s going to happen in this life,” Nadal said. “You need to be prepared to accept everything.”

Only three months ago, Daniil Medvedev was mired in a five-match losing streak. Four of those matches went to a deciding set, and the Russian was worrying about his results.

“Of course you can have fear, but it’s more when you are in the down moment, like I was this year once,” Medvedev said. “That’s when you have fear going out on the court. You’re like, ‘Am I going to lose again? Am I going to win or not?’”

But when the 23-year-old walked onto Arthur Ashe Stadium Sunday afternoon for the US Open final, those negative thoughts were out of his mind. Medvedev arrived in the championship match in the form of his career, winning 20 of his 22 North American summer hard-court matches leading into the final against World No. 2 Rafael Nadal. There was no pressure, just excitement at the prospect of potentially winning a Grand Slam title.

“After the summer I had no fear. I had everything to win. I think it’s Rafa who had something to lose,” Medvedev said. “I went out there, I gave everything I could, and I’m proud of myself.”

Medvedev lost the match, but he showed why he will climb to a career-high World No. 4 on Monday. The tournament’s fifth seed was down two sets and a break against one of tennis’ greatest legends. But the Russian scratched and clawed his way back into the match, turning up the aggression and battling his way into a fifth set, and earning three break points at 1-0 in the decider.

“Even though it’s my first Grand Slam final, I’ve been playing tennis for 17 years. Had a lot of big matches, not as big as this one. I’m ready for these moments to just be there and try to win the match,” Medvedev said. “It’s not the matter of focus or fear or any deconcentration in the fifth set. It’s just the matter of two tennis players fighting against each other, because I always said tennis is a tough sport because you’re only against yourself and your opponent. You don’t have a team behind you to support you. You don’t have anyone.

“It was exactly this: two players fighting each other. He was the better one today. I have to admit it. I have no regrets.”

That’s because finding a way to a fifth set seemed improbable a couple of hours into the match. After Medvedev broke early in the first set, Nadal wrestled control away to put himself just three service holds away from triumphing in straight sets. And when the Spaniard gains momentum, it’s like trying to stop a freight train without breaks. So digging out of that hole was an accomplishment in itself.

“I was thinking, ‘Okay, in 20 minutes I have to give a speech. What do I say?’” Medvedev said. “I was like, ‘Okay, okay, just fight for every point, don’t think about these things.’ It worked out not bad. Was I close to winning? Yes, one set away.

“I had break points at 5-4 [in the fifth set]. I will remember everything of it. I will be disappointed with the result, but I will be happy with the way I played the whole summer, the whole US Open.”

Medvedev could have been devastated by his defeat, after fighting so hard and coming up just short in the world’s biggest tennis stadium with a Grand Slam title on the line. But instead, he was plenty jovial in his post-match press conference.

“I definitely will remember tonight. I’m sure even talking about Rafa’s 19 Grand Slams, I’m sure he remembers his first final, even though he won it and I lost it,” Medvedev said. “[It] was [an] amazing match. It’s an amazing story. All this summer is amazing for me. I will remember every moment of it. I have a really good memory if we talk about tennis. I’ll definitely remember it even when I’m 70 years old!”

It’s been a tremendous journey over the past two weeks for Medvedev, who had never advanced past the fourth round of a Grand Slam. His best previous result at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center came last year, when he reached the third round. So there is plenty to be proud of despite Sunday’s result.

“Sometimes I didn’t play as good as I wanted, but I managed to be in the final. I managed to give huge fight to one of the best players in the history of our sport,” Medvedev said. “[I] have to give myself credit. I hope I grew a lot doing these things. But I need to continue and I need to be better.”

Medvedev will not be defined by this loss. At 23, he reminded the world a bit of the man who won the match: Nadal. Not once did Medvedev stop competing, and that’s what the countless fans who watched from around the world will remember, not the score.

“I knew I will be in the final of US Open, I will fight for every ball, no matter if it’s 6-0, 6-0, 5-0, 40-Love, I’ll just try to win one more point to say myself, Okay, I’ve done everything I could,” Medvedev said. “I can say I’ve done everything I could today.”

Medvedev also came full circle with the New York fans. During his runner-up speech, the capacity crowd loudly cheered for the Russian.

“I was being myself. I was fighting for every point. I think they appreciated it,” Medvedev said. “I felt that these guys wanted some more tennis. They were cheering me up like crazy. I knew I had to leave my heart out there for them also. For myself first of all, but for them also. I think they saw it and they appreciated it. I’m thankful to them for this.”

What appeared like a straight-sets victory for Rafael Nadal over Daniil Medvedev turned into the third-longest final in US Open history. The Spaniard won his fourth crown in New York after defeating Medvedev in a five-set classic that lasted four hours and 50 minutes.

Juan Martin del Potro, Rod Laver, David de Gea and Nadia Comaneci are among the tennis stars and famous faces who reacted to the classic match via social media.

ATPTour.com looks at some of the best tweets about Nadal and Medvedev’s epic battle.

What a match guys!! Unforgettable fight @RafaelNadal @DaniilMedwed. ???? Felicitaciones Rafa!! #usopen

— Juan M. del Potro (@delpotrojuan) September 9, 2019

Congrats to Rafa for creating more history in our sport and showcasing amazing fighting spirit. And congrats to Daniil for an incredible summer on hardcourt in USA. You should be proud of yourself. Great things to come for you. Well done boys & thank you ? for fantastic match. https://t.co/dpCJA0UFt6

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) September 9, 2019

Congratulations @RafaelNadal, a gutsy victory to claim your 19th Major, 4th @usopen crown and 2nd Slam title this year after the French. Stand tall friend, you are closing in, it was a privilege to present this trophy to you tonight.?? pic.twitter.com/p6yIzYQULX

— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) September 9, 2019

This guy is from another planet! @RafaelNadal @usopen pic.twitter.com/z9HMbClp1v

— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) September 9, 2019

???? A legend with no limits! Congratulations on your great @usopen victory, @RafaelNadal! @RealMadrid is very proud to have you as an honorary member of our club. #USOpen

— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) September 9, 2019

One for the ages! Absolutely incredible #USOpen Men’s Singles Final with the indomitable @RafaelNadal winning his fourth US Open title. Congratulations, Rafa! #USOpenFinals

— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) September 9, 2019

Big congrats to my boy @RafaelNadal ! 19! #usopen #dominate

— bubba watson (@bubbawatson) September 9, 2019

Wowwww that was unreal tennis – talk about leaving it all on the court. What a battle. Congrats @RafaelNadal & you too @DaniilMedwed ?????? ?

— Sloane Stephens (@SloaneStephens) September 9, 2019

Someone has to keep her in line! ? Congrats to both of these guys! #beastmode @DaniilMedwed @RafaelNadal https://t.co/dd2mG3FHPV

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) September 9, 2019

Incredible men’s final! Congrats @RafaelNadal on yet another grand slam title. And hats off to @DaniilMedwed for fighting to the last point. Incredible playing by both men!! Thank you @Chase Kristin Lemkau for having us! ??❤️

— lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) September 9, 2019

Amazing final @usopen @RafaelNadal @DaniilMedwed pic.twitter.com/PiKahL9AP0

— Nadia Comaneci (@nadiacomaneci10) September 9, 2019

One of the best matches in @usopen history tonight! Congratulations to @rafaelnadal to his 4th US Open title! What an amazing accomplishment! Big congratulations also to young medwed33 who pushed Rafael to the limit!… https://t.co/9Z2VswPixX

— Johan Kriek (@johankriek) September 9, 2019

Nadal and Medvedev are getting it [email protected] wow

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) September 9, 2019

This man is soulful and a true champion @RafaelNadal took it to the limit tonight @usopen #19 incredible inspiring pic.twitter.com/KhvIBf30Qf

— Sandra Bernhard (@SandraBernhard) September 9, 2019

Unreal final! You gave it all and you can be proud of yourself my friend!Enjoy this moment???? @DaniilMedwed https://t.co/63CGifXOc1

— Karen Khachanov (@karenkhachanov) September 9, 2019