Rafael Nadal won his 19th Grand Slam title after holding off Russian Daniil Medvedev’s exhilarating fightback in one of the greatest US Open finals.

Spain’s Nadal, 33, won 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 against the fifth seed in New York.

Nadal, seeded second, was cruising at two sets and a break up, only for Medvedev to force a decider.

But Nadal stopped his momentum to clinch a thrilling win in four hours and 50 minutes – just four minutes shorter than the longest US Open final.

Nadal’s victory moves him within one of Swiss rival Roger Federer’s all-time leading tally of Grand Slam victories.

“It has been one of the most emotional nights in my tennis career,” Nadal said. “It has been an amazing final. It has been a crazy match.”

After taking his third match point, Nadal collapsed to the court in celebration, covering his face as contemplated another famous victory which epitomised all of his fighting spirit.

Medvedev, 23, trudged around the net to warmly congratulate his opponent, who looked on the verge of tears as he hid behind his sweat-soaked vest while taking rapturous acclaim.

“I just want to congratulate Rafa, a 19th Grand Slam title is something unbelievable, outrageous,” said Medvedev, who looked mesmerised as he watched a video montage of Nadal’s achievements.

Those lucky enough to be watching among a near 24,000 capacity crowd were regularly left open-mouthed at what they witnessed, with the majority jumping to their feet and celebrating wildly after every point, helping create an electric atmosphere on a noisy Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Medvedev had been booed by the crowd earlier in the tournament, yet heard his name loudly chanted by many as he threatened to complete an extraordinary comeback.

Ultimately it was too late as he was unable to become the first man outside Nadal, Federer and Serbia’s world number one Novak Djokovic to claim one of the sport’s biggest prizes since Stan Wawrinka’s victory here in 2016.

Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have won the past 12 Grand Slams after the Spaniard lifted the trophy in New York for a fourth time.

Now Nadal has the chance to draw level with 38-year-old Federer, who was nine titles better off than his long-time rival in 2007, at the Australian Open in January.

Emotional Nadal outlasts latest young challenger

Despite Nadal, Federer and Djokovic being in their 30s, nobody has been able to break their stranglehold on the men’s game and Medvedev was the latest to fall short after a heroic effort.

That has allowed the illustrious trio to pile on the Grand Slam victories over the past three years, livening up the race to be crowned the greatest of all time, which Federer once seemed certain to win.

Nadal, who also won his 12th French Open title earlier this year, is now within one of Federer’s tally for the first time.

The magnitude of his achievements – which were shown on the big screen inside Ashe – hit the emotional Spaniard, who broke into tears while he sat in his chair and watched them.

That was a release of all the expendable emotional energy built up over the final two sets of a match which, against a less inspired opponent, he may have wrapped up much earlier.

A couple of hours before, Nadal appeared to be heading to a dominant three-set win against Medvedev, who was the first Russian man to compete in a Grand Slam final since Marat Safin at the 2005 Australian Open.

A physical contest, where both men jousted for supremacy as they tried to outlast each other in brutal rallies, seemed to be going to end in familiar fashion when Nadal broke for a 3-2 lead in the third set.

From somewhere, Medvedev summoned the strength to not only survive but threaten to produce one of the most memorable comebacks ever seen.

But Nadal’s intensity allowed him to eventually outlast the wiry Russian who, despite struggling with a quad injury during the tournament, continued to hang in even as the clock approached five hours.

Nadal’s mental resilience saw him through in the end, despite Medvedev producing another fightback from a double break down at 5-2 in the decider.

A fourth victory at Flushing Meadows seals another stellar year for Nadal, who reached three Grand Slam finals in the same year for the fourth time of his incredible career.

Medvedev wins over crowd with ability & humility

Medvedev has been the form player on the ATP Tour in the North American hard-court swing, leading to many tennis fans picking him out as the man most likely to threaten the ‘big three’ at Flushing Meadows.

This gutsy display on the biggest stage of his burgeoning career, plus the humour and humility he showed in his runners-up speech afterwards, has showcased his talents to a much wider audience.

Medvedev has had a tempestuous relationship with the New York crowd over the past fortnight, having been booed earlier in the tournament for trolling them with his provocative post-match celebrations and interviews.

But he has since looked to shake off the role of pantomime villain and apologised for his behaviour, which has included angrily snatching towels from ball people and curtly ‘thanking’ the American fans for jeering him.

During Sunday’s final it became evident he has now endeared himself and has won them around.

Standing ovations greeted him breaking back to level during the third set and again when he held off two break points to hold for 5-4.

A loud chant of “Med-ve-dev, Med-ve-dev, Med-ve-dev” broke out for the first time after he held serve to take a 6-5 lead in the third set and continued through to the end of the match.

That recognition was testament to the ability and character which has marked out the lanky Russian, set to rise to fourth in the world on Monday, as a star over the past year.

Another prolonged ovation greeted him as collected his runners-up prize.

“I know early in the tournament I said something in a bad way, and now I want to say it in a good way, it is because of your energy I am here,” he said.

After losing in the Washington and Montreal finals in August, Medvedev claimed the title in Cincinnati and continued his winning streak in New York to reach his first major final.

The Russian is only the third man – after Ivan Lendl and Andre Agassi – to reach all four of these finals in the Open era.

Those exertions, plus the efforts he needed to keep Nadal at bay in the physical first set, looked to have caught up with him, Nadal breaking for a 4-2 lead which was enough to seal the second set, and again for a 3-2 lead in the third.

But after immediately wiping that out to level, Medvedev took an anxious Nadal’s serve to claw a set back.

That was only the start of the story as the pair slugged it out for another two hours before Medvedev finally succumbed.

Analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller

That is now 12 Grand Slam titles in a row which have been won by Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Their domination of the sport began in 2005, and does not show any signs of abating.

But the way Medvedev played should give the younger breed real heart. There are three other top-10 players who are the same age or younger than the 23-year-old Russian.

Medvedev played with passion, power, resilience and great touch at the net, and in the fourth set Nadal looked increasingly stressed.

And yet he came through once again, for the fourth time at the US Open, and on a surface which has so often disagreed with his body.

Surely no-one who saw Nadal limp away from last year’s Australian Open quarter-final with a leg problem, and from last year’s US Open semi-final with a knee injury, could begrudge him one of the most emotional triumphs of his career.

‘One of the greatest finals’ – Reaction

39-time Grand Slam champion Billie Jean King: One for the ages! Absolutely incredible #USOpen Men’s Singles Final with the indomitable @RafaelNadal winning his fourth US Open title. Congratulations, Rafa!

2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens: Wowwww that was unreal tennis – talk about leaving it all on the court. What a battle. Congrats Rafael Nadal & you too Daniil Medvedev

Former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski: What we have just witnessed is one of the greatest US Open men’s finals in the history of tennis. Daniil Medvedev was incredible to fight back from two sets down and a break. Rafael Nadal showed us why he is the greatest competitor we have every seen on a tennis court. Slam No. 19!

Tennis great Rod Laver: Congratulations Rafael Nadal, a gutsy victory to claim your 19th major, fourth US Open crown and second 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.

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Elise Mertens and Aryna Sabalenka won their maiden Grand Slam title in the US Open women’s doubles.

The fourth seeds beat Australian Ashleigh Barty and Belarusian Victoria Azarenka 7-5 7-5 in one hour and 36 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Belgian Mertens and Belarusian Sabalenka won the titles at Indian Wells and Miami earlier this year.

Barty, the French Open singles champion, won the US doubles title last year with American Coco Vandeweghe.

• Nadal chases 19th Grand Slam title in men’s US Open final
• Is it now ‘if’ rather than ‘when’ Williams will win another Grand Slam?
• Live scores, schedule and results

Alfie Hewett retained his US Open wheelchair singles title as fellow Briton Andy Lapthorne won the quad singles title.

Hewett, 21, beat Frenchman Stephane Houdet 7-6 (11-9) 7-6 (7-5).

Earlier, Lapthorne, 28, beat Australian Dylan Alcott 6-1 6-0 to win in New York for the first time since 2014.

In winning, he ended Alcott’s unbeaten record for the season – having lost to him in the Wimbledon final – and his quest for the calendar Grand Slam.

Later on Sunday, Lapthorne and Alcott will team up in the quads doubles final against Americans David Wagner and Bryan Barten.

Hewett will also play again in the wheelchair doubles alongside Gordon Reid. They take on Japan’s Shingo Kunieda and Argentina’s Gustavo Fernandez as they attempt to win the title for the third successive year.

“I knew I was disabled, but I never wanted to live what I thought was a disabled life.”

On 13 June 2009, a young Lauren Jones was climbing a tree with a friend when she slipped, fell 20 feet to the ground hitting a branch on the way and breaking her spine.

Aged 13 and a promising footballer, Jones was on the books of Brighton & Hove Albion when she was told she would never walk again.

A decade since the accident, Jones is now a professional GB wheelchair tennis player on the road to the Paralympics.

The Worthing-born teenager was initially airlifted to St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester where doctors quickly learned her injuries were too severe. She needed to be transferred to Southampton General Hospital.

“I was in a room of about 20 other people, a couple of my surgeons who had flown in from America to operate on me and the rest were nurses and my parents,” Jones recalls to BBC Sport.

“I was laying there in a neck cast and everyone was crying. They told me I would never walk again.

“I laughed. It was a shock reaction, I thought it wasn’t real.

“It wasn’t until I looked at all these professionals completely heartbroken and the look on my parents’ faces, that for me is when it hit home.”

Today, Jones is former junior world number one in her sport and has been ranked as high as 24 in her senior singles career.

But her career has not been easy. She has faced multiple injury setbacks, including missing out on the Paralympics in Rio 2016 and has recently been diagnosed with Crohn’s disease.

Despite setbacks, Jones continues to work towards her goal of competing in the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020, and talks to BBC Sport about:

• Life before the accident
• Finding tennis through her accident
• Success as a junior
• Missing out on Rio 2016
• Recent setbacks including being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease
• Road to the Paralympics

‘I was a young girl whose dreams had been shattered’

Before her accident at Chichester Boat Marina in 2009, Jones was a promising footballer. She played for her local team in Worthing and had just started playing for Brighton & Hove Albion Girls Centre of Excellence.

She had previously played for the Seagulls as a nine-year-old, but was told to return once she had a growth spurt in her teenage years.

But that return would unfortunately coincide with her accident and Jones found it hard to adjust to the news she would never walk again.

“I used to lay in my hospital bed trying to move my legs,” she said. “It was a completely life-changing experience and really tough to take.”

But when she finally began to understand the severity of her accident, she started asking questions.

“I wanted to know what I couldn’t do anymore,” she said. “One of the first things I asked is ‘could I travel?’ which is ironic considering now I travel the world every month competing.”

The football lover was a season ticket holder at Reading. Just several hours after finding out about her future, she was asking whether her new disability meant she would be able to get better seats at the Madejski Stadium.

“It was the end of my footballing career, but I knew I wanted to be involved in sport.”

‘The best decision my parents ever made’

As Jones regained the strength to move her arms, she started to become a bit of a character on her ward at Southampton General Hospital.

“I was known for being a bit of a joker, making skid marks as I raced around in a wheelchair and creating a basketball hoop out of a sick bucket,” she recalls.

“I told doctors I wanted to be involved in sport.”

But they were concerned the initial surgery would not cater for the sporting lifestyle Jones wanted.

“There was a chance the rods and screws that realigned my spine from the first surgery would bend and potentially break,” she said.

“My parents had the choice of putting me into major surgery so I could have a better quality of life, but with the risk I may not survive.

“I always say it’s the best decision they’ve ever made. They had to collapse both my lungs and put me on life support.

“They removed one of my ribs, blended it and put the mashed up bone inside my vertebra, surrounded by a metal cage.”

The surgery was a success and enabled Jones to go on and immerse herself in sport.

‘Sport really did change my life after my accident’

Due to her strong desire to play sport and just over two years since her major surgery, Jones was selected for a Paralympic training day at the age of 16.

“I think I was the only one there that wasn’t over 25 with massive muscles,” she said.

After trying a variety, Jones was selected to progress in four sports, eventually deciding to pursue tennis.

“I liked the technical side of tennis and how the professional level of the game ran alongside the able-bodied game such as Grand Slams and Wimbledon,” she added.

“Before my accident, I didn’t know disabled people could play sport, so I didn’t go into tennis with any expectations of becoming professional.

“But, within two years of starting to play, I was junior world number one.”

Jones went on to win doubles with the boys’ junior number one at the time, Alfie Hewett, who has since won three Wimbledon titles and two silver medals at Rio 2016, and is now ranked world number four.

Soon realising she had natural ability in the sport, Jones decided to move away from education to focus on her new goal of becoming a professional tennis player.

Pushing on through setback after setback

Jones has competed all over the world as a professional athlete since taking up wheelchair tennis.

Sadly, following automatic qualification, she was ruled out of the 2016 Rio Paralympics because of injury.

“That was four years of work where I wanted to compete in Rio that was taken away from me,” she said.

The blow has spurred Jones on to work towards Tokyo 2020, but that too has had its setbacks, including being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease last year.

Crohn’s is an inflammatory bowel disease, its symptoms including fatigue, malnourishment and stomach pain.

“It can have serious effects on your body, I was falling asleep by seven o’clock every night,” she added.

“I just assumed that’s what it was like to be a professional athlete with Crohn’s.”

Jones’ pain and exhaustion worried doctors and after multiple tests, they found the then 23-year-old had two abscesses the size of tennis balls attached to her ovaries and bowel.

She was rushed to hospital in March this year needing surgery, and has had to spend three months out of training in the run up to Tokyo.

“It was a very upsetting and tough time for me, they told me I might not be able to have children. It was just the wrong timing following not being able to qualify for Rio,” she said.

“I didn’t want it to get the better of me so I focused on my career off court.

“I created a really great network of businesses and people around me and turned it into a positive.”

Jones’ profile has grown rapidly this year, noticed by Worthing’s local anonymous street artist Horace, who creates portraits of the town’s icons, including rock singer Billy Idol.

‘I’ve been fully focused on Tokyo’

Coming back from injury in May, Jones has to now climb the ranks to earn automatic qualification for Tokyo.

Once 24th in the world, recent injuries have seen her drop to 61st. To be in with the chance of competing in the Paralympics, she needs to reach the top 25.

Since her return, Jones has had five tournaments, winning two doubles, two singles and a career highlight beating world number 21 Macarena Cabrillana from Chile in February.

Her progress has been promising and she beams by the tennis court she trains at in Southampton as she looks ahead to the Paralympics.

“I’m playing the best I’ve ever played, I’m the strongest I’ve ever been and I feel like I’m in the best place I’ve ever been in my career.”

Those recent performances have seen Jones climb back into the world’s top 50 and she will surely leave no stone unturned in her bid to reach the top 25 in time for Tokyo.

“The bigger the occasion, the bigger she hits,” Bianca Andreescu’s coach said before the Canadian’s US Open final victory.

Sylvain Bruneau was talking about the 19-year-old, but it could have equally applied to Serena Williams, her opponent, at pretty much any point over the past 20 years.

But something has changed in Grand Slam finals of late.

For Williams to reach the 2018 Wimbledon final, just 10 months after her traumatic experience in labour, was nothing short of miraculous. And for the American to do the same at last year’s US Open, with very few matches in between, was another phenomenal feat.

Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka played extremely well to win those finals, Simona Halep was exceptional in this year’s Wimbledon final, and the poise, belief and skill of Andreescu at Flushing Meadows on Saturday was quite something to watch.

A growing group of players now believe they have what it takes to beat the 23-time Grand Slam champion – who is one short of Australian Margaret Court’s all-time record – when a trophy is on the line.

Williams, 37, may think she has the beating of them, but it does not appear that way, and she did not play nearly as well in the final as she had done in earlier rounds.

Her movement, so impressive in the semi-finals against Elina Svitolina, was much more laboured. And her serve was much diminished.

Williams was broken three times in six matches before the final. On Saturday, she was broken six times in two sets.

She made just 44% of first serves. She won only 30% of her second-serve points. And she sent down eight double faults.

Her serve recovered, briefly, as she won four games in a row to level the second set to thunderous encouragement from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd.

Andreescu put her fingers in her ears to block out the noise but then, at 5-5 and with the Canadian only too aware a championship point had come and gone, the confident and clinical Williams disappeared.

Her serve and her groundstrokes became edgy and tentative, as Andreescu regained the composure which would earn her a richly deserved first Grand Slam title.

“Serena…,” Williams said, addressing herself in a post match news conference. “You didn’t miss a serve, you lost serve maybe twice in the whole tournament, and you didn’t hit a first serve in today.

“That was obviously on my mind. How do I play at a level like this in a final?”

• ‘I could have been more Serena’ – Williams criticises ‘inexcusable’ performance
• Andreescu beats Williams – as it happened

The 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli, a close friend of Williams, thinks the American puts extra pressure on herself, and cannot rid that from her mind when she steps on to court.

“She just feels she has to win this one, and it has to be that one that she’s going to get to 24, and then to 25 [Grand Slam titles],” Bartoli told BBC Radio 5 Live last week.

Williams’ next opportunity to draw level with Court’s record will come at the Australian Open in Melbourne in January.

Winning a final on the WTA Tour between now and then might do Williams a power of good, but will she want to compete in Asia in the final stretch of the year?

She has not played any tournaments after the US Open for five years. In 2014, when she last played and won the WTA Finals, she went on to win the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon the following year.

After 22 years on tour – and with a two-year-old child to consider – another spell away from home may not remotely appeal. But surely a few more tournaments, and the chance to play at least three matches against top-eight opponents at the WTA Finals in Shenzhen, would be an excellent springboard into 2020?

Williams, of course, has absolutely nothing to prove. To most, she is already considered the greatest of all time – in the women’s game at the very least. She has been in Grand Slam finals 20 years apart, and has won all of her major titles in the Open era.

But she so desperately wants to equal, and then surpass, Court’s tally.

Further opportunities may well arise, but it is now entirely reasonable to ask if, rather than when, she will do it.

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