Rafael Nadal advances to his fifth US Open final against Daniil Medvedev

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New York: Three-time champion Rafael Nadal advanced to his fifth US Open final with a convincing win over 24th seed Italian challenger Matteo Berrettini at the Flushing Meadows.

On Friday, Nadal wore down the first-time semifinalist 7-6, 6-4, 6-1 under the lights of Arthur Ashe Stadium and sprinted into the final on Sunday where he will be facing No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev in what will be a match-up of two of the hottest hard-court players in the world.

The No. 2 seed Spaniard has been in devastating form in this edition of the Grand Slam, losing just one set in his six victories, and that came in the fourth round against Marin Cilic. “The first set was a little frustrating because I had a lot of break points before the tie-break and he didn’t have any.

In the tie-break I was a little lucky because he had 5/2 and 4/0. But I survived at that moment and I finally got the break in the second and then the match completely changed,” Nadal was quoted as saying by the ATP Tour website.

“I started to play with more calm and aggression. I’m super happy to be back in the final of the US Open.” Earlier in the day, Medvedev held off Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 to enter his first Grand Slam final. The 23-year-old Russian is just the third player in the Open era to reach the Washington, Canada, Cincinnati and US Open finals in the same season, joining Ivan Lendl (1982) and Andre Agassi (1995).