Live US Open Final, Rafael Nadal vs Kevin Anderson: Will Rafael Nadal win a 16th Grand Slam title?
The men’s singles final of the US Open is upon us and it will see South Africa’s Kevin Anderson against two-time US Open winner and 15-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal. No prizes for guessing who is the favourite here. Nadal is the top seed and he has a 4-0 head-to-head record against Anderson. The only meeting before this between the two players in a Grand Slam was at the 2016 Australian Open that Nadal won in straight sets. Catch live scores and updates of the US Open final between Rafael Nadal and Kevin Anderson here.
Rafael Nadal vs Kevin Anderson, Live US Open 2017 final:
0333 hrs IST: Nadal wins second set 6-3, one more set away from 16th Grand Slam title. The Spaniard holds Anderson for love in that final game of the second set. He is now one more set away from a third US Open and a 16th Grand Slam title
(Source: AP)
0327 hrs IST: Nadal leads 5-2 in second set. He falls back but gets back up in the game with two aces. He then takes the next two points
0316 hrs IST: Nadal holds, keeps Anderson on love and leads by a set and 3-2.
0312 hrs IST: Anderson takes the lead quickly before Nadal comes back and makes it 30-15. Another ace for Anderson, Nadal mishits a forehand and Anderson is back on level terms
0305 hrs IST: Nadal leads by a set and 2-1. Anderson had brought it to 30-all and Nadal then sends a rippling serve that Anderson could only find the net with and the South African then sends a forehand long to give Nadal the game
0258 hrs IST: Nadal wins first set 6-3. The Spaniard has wrestled back control of the game here. An unforced error from Anderson on his forehand gives Nadal the set point. Nadal then moves in from deep beyond the baseline and volleys for a winner
0246 hrs IST: Nadal turns it around in the next three games, leads the first set 5-3. Nadal found a way around Anderson’s serves and broke in the seventh game.
0221 hr IST: Anderson holding serve, lead 3-2. This was a hard fought one for the South African. He is taking advantage of the deep stance Nadal is taking to deal with his serve.
0218 hrs IST: Anderson wins the third game, leads Nadal 2-1 in first set. That took a long time and at the end of it, Anderson holds.
0212 hrs IST: The third game has gone into three deuces after Anderson’s double fault. In the ensuing rally, Anderson takes advantage yet again with a ripping cross court back hand.
0205 hrs IST: The third game goes to 40-40 and Nadal gets to advantage with a backhand placed with geometric precision that landed behind Anderson. A long rally follows at the end of which Nadal finds a net with a forehand and it is back at deuce.
0156 hrs IST: Kevin Anderson wins the first game, his big serves coming handy. The last point was an ace and was served at such a speed that it left Nadal rooted to the spot. As of now it does not look like a cakewalk for the World No. 1
Height of the man on the left is 6’1”. (Source: AP)
0144 hrs IST: The two men are out, the umpire has explained the rules to them, they have posed for the photographs, easy to forget that Nadal is just over six feet tall as he is dwarfed by the six feet eight inch frame of Kevin Anderson.
0054 hrs IST: If there ever was a battle of contradictions, this is it. Kevin Anderson’s best finish before this tournament in a Grand Slam was reaching the fourth round finish of the 2014 French Open. If he manages to win here, he will be the lowest ranked Grand Slam winner since World No 44 Gaston Gaudio won French Open in 2004. Nadal, on the other hand, has won 15 Grand Slam titles, twice at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. He is the current World No. 1 which is also the fourth time he has reached the summit of the ATP rankings. This year, he reached final of the Australian Open and won the French Open without dropping a set.
