Rafael Nadal seeks to win his fourth title in New York and a 19th major tonight as he takes Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final.
If he gets it done later, he has a huge chance of equalling Federer’s all-time grand slam record of 20 as early as next January in Australia.
Nadal has been in brutal form at Flushing Meadows with nobody getting close to him and he’s only dropped a single set on the way to the final.
However, this is one of the most important matches of his career due to its significance of chasing Federer’s slam count, so could be a factor in his performance tonight?
Daniil Medvedev has been the young player of the season on the ATP Tour and his performances in his last four tournaments have been crazy good. The Russian bad boy has made all four finals on the American summer hard court swing – including this one – and picked up the Cincinnati Masters title along the way.
What’s even more impressive is how he has manoeuvred his way through this draw while visibly carrying injuries.
These two have only played once before and it was in one of those aforementioned finals, it was a no-contest though with Nadal prevailing 6-3 6-0 at the Canadian Open back in August.
Was this a one-off, or does the match-up suit the Spaniard that much? Only time will tell.
We would be shocked to see a Nadal lose this, but it should be tougher than their last encounter. So, we expect the great Spaniard to drop a least a set to Medvedev later tonight.
Traders’ tip: Daniil Medvedev v Rafael Nadal: Nadal 3-1 – 12/5
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