NEW YORK: World number one Rafael Nadal won his 16th Grand Slam title and third US Open crown on Sunday by defeating South African 28th seed Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.

The 31-year-old left-hander captured the top prize of US$3.7 million (€3.07 million) and his second Grand Slam crown of the year after taking his 10th French Open title in June. </s> The door was opened for surprises in the U.S. Open men’s field when injuries took out Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka before the tournament began, and it opened wider when the late withdrawal of No. 2 seed Andy Murray shook up the bottom of the draw. The struggles of a subpar Roger Federer — who lost in the quarterfinals before he could have his first-ever Flushing Meadows matchup against Rafael Nadal — scrambled things again.

And so it was that Nadal, ranked No. 1 in the world, made it to Sunday’s final at Arthur Ashe Stadium without having to face a seeded player until he defeated No. 24 Jan Martin del Potro in the semifinals, and that South African Kevin Anderson made it through the bottom half of the draw and to the final as No. 32 in the world, the lowest-ranked U.S. Open finalist since the men’s rankings were launched in 1973.

“We are sort of accustomed to the few guys doing well,” Anderson said of the missing elite players after his 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 semifinal victory over No. 12 seed Pablo Carreno Busta put him into his first Grand Slam final. “It’s tough beating those guys because they have had so much experience at this level.”

Nadal, 31, is the decided favorite as he pursues his third U.S. Open title and 16th Grand Slam championship in his 23rd Grand Slam final. His course here hasn’t been entirely smooth but he has gradually raised his level of play. On Friday he said he awoke in a good frame of mind before he faced Del Potro. “I say to myself, ‘Today is the day that’ll play. I need to play with the right energy and I need to increase the level of my game,’ and I know that,” Nadal said. “A lot of times I know that and it didn’t happen, but [on Friday] it happened.”

After switching tactics and changing the rhythm of his serve, he went on to earn a 4-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Del Potro, who had upset Dominic Thiem and Federer. “Important victory against a great opponent,” Nadal said.

Nadal has a 4-0 edge over Anderson in head-to-head matchups, most recently prevailing in a round-of-16 win on clay this year in Barcelona, Spain. Anderson, who is a few weeks older than Nadal, has been slowed by a labrum tear in his hip and had to withdraw from the Australian Open and retire in the fourth round at the French Open. He opted to go through rehabilitation instead of surgery and said his body feels heathy now.

He knows he will need to be at full strength on Sunday against Nadal — and even that might not be enough. “Nadal’s, I think, one of the greatest competitors in sport, period. He’s an amazing fighter,” Anderson said. “He really controls the court well the few times I have played him.

“I really need to be dominant and control proceedings as much as possible because if you let him do it, it’s very difficult.”

Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Jamie Murray of Great Britain won the mixed doubles title Saturday over Hao-Ching Chen of Tapei and Michael Venus of New Zealand 6-1, 4-6, 10-8. It was the seventh mixed doubles Grand Slam title for Hingis, who is a five-time Grand Slam singles champion. She will compete for her 13th women’s doubles Grand Slam title on Sunday, when she and Chan Yung-Jan of Tapei face the Czech duo of Lucie Hradecka and Katerina Siniakova. </s> New York, Sep 11 (IANS) Spain's Rafael Nadal defeated Kevin Anderson from South Africa 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to win his third US Open title on Sunday.

The victory gave the world number one the 16th Grand Slam title. Only his longtime rival Roger Federer has more, with 19.

Besides his triumph in New York, Nadal also won the French Open in June and has collected two major titles in the same year for the first time since 2013, when he won the last of his two US Open crowns.

Federer won the season's other two Slam trophies at the Australian Open, beating Nadal in the final, and Wimbledon, illustrating the two Grand Slam greats' enduring power.

World number 32 Anderson was the lowest-ranked US Open men's finalist since the ATP rankings began 44 years ago. He had never before been past the quarterfinals at any major tournament in 33 tries.

The final was a lopsided one where Nadal was never really tested by his opponent. He converted four of his nine breaking points while Anderson never had breaking chances. Anderson powered 10 aces compared to one from Nadal, but he made 40 unforced errors to just 11 from Nadal.

Nadal said: "It's unbelievable what happened this year. After a couple of years with a lot of trouble and pain, I've been playing a very high level in the sport."

"To close the Grand Slam year winning at New York feels good, that's one of the events that's really full of high energy. The US Open feels a little bit like home," said Nadal, who has yet to lose to Anderson, now standing 5-0 in the series.

Anderson, 31, gave all thumbs up to Nadal, saying "I know we're the same age but I feel like I've been watching you my whole life".

"He's one of the toughest competitors in the game and one of the greatest ambassadors of our sport," he added. </s> Serbia’s Novak Djokovic has defeated South Africa’s Kevin Anderson in a three-set match at Wimbledon’s men’s single final today. The 6-2 6-2 7-6 victory marks Njokovic’s fourth Wimbledon win and 13th Grand Slam title overall, his last having been won at the 2016 French Open.

“The last couple of years haven’t been easy,” said Djokovic of the win. “I had surgery and was absent from the tour for six months. This was my first grand slam final after a couple of years. There was no better place to make my comeback. This is a sacred place for tennis. I always dreamed of holding this trophy when I was a young boy.”

“Playing against Novak isn’t easy,” added Anderson. “Congratulations to him. I’m not feeling as fresh now as I was coming into the week. But this is an amazing tournament for all of us. That’s what it had to take for me to get here. I would have given another 21 hours to have the opportunity to play out here.”

After suffering an elbow injury that caused Djokovic to withdraw from the 2017 Wimbledon quarterfinal, his win at Wimbledon today marks his first major victory in more than two years. In yesterday’s semifinal match, Djokovic had defeated Spain’s Rafael Nadal, the world number one, in a five-set match.

Meanwhile, had he won today’s match, Anderson would have gained his first Grand Slam title. He came close at the 2017 US Open final, but lost against Spain’s Rafael Nadal. At this year’s Wimbledon men’s semifinal, he defeated America’s John Isner in a gruelling match that lasted six hours and 35 minutes, the second longest in Wimbledon history.

Watch Venus Williams’s 7 Best Workout Moves for a Grand Slam Body—Just Ahead of Wimbledon </s> Rafael Nadal raced to a third US Open title and 16th Grand Slam crown on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 rout of South African giant Kevin Anderson.

The world number one, the champion also in New York in 2010 and 2013, added the US title to the record 10th French Open he captured in June.

Old rival Roger Federer won the season's other two Slams at the Australian Open, beating Nadal in the final, and Wimbledon in an illustration of the two Grand Slam greats' enduring appeal and power.

Nadal's Grand Slam tally is just three behind Federer's record 19.

For Nadal, it was his fifth title of the year and 74th of his career while the $3.7 million (3.07 euros) winner's prize boosted his earnings to a shade under $90 million.

It was a desperately disappointing afternoon for Anderson, the world number 32 playing in his maiden Slam final at the 34th attempt.

He was the first South African in a US championship final since Cliff Drysdale in 1965 and was bidding to become his country's first Slam champion since Johan Kriek at the 1981 Australian Open.

The Johannesburg-born, Florida-based Anderson finished the 2hr 28min final with 40 unforced errors to Nadal's 11, failing even to carve out a single break point.

In a final guaranteed to result in the fifth Slam champion in succession who is 30 or older, Nadal was on top from the start.

He had 28th-seeded Anderson scrambling to save two break points in the third and fifth games before the Spaniard converted his fifth off a forehand error for a 4-3 lead.

The world number one held and broke again, cleverly forcing the 31-year-old South African out of position on set point after 58 minutes of action.

By the end of the opening set, Nadal had just five unforced errors to Anderson's 23 with the South African unable to muster a single break point.

The one-way traffic continued in the second set as Nadal broke for 4-2 off the back of three successive volleys.

Anderson even collected a time violation for his troubles as his efforts to compose himself failed horribly.

Anderson was broken again in the opening game of the third set.

It was his fourth loss of serve in the final; before Sunday, he had been broken just five times in the entire tournament.

Anderson called the trainer for a bloodied right index finger after the fifth game, but his struggles continued.

He saved a match point but Nadal wrapped it up with a clinical backhand volley. </s> NEW YORK – Three quick thoughts from the 2017 U.S. Open men’s final, where Rafael Nadal defeated Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 27 minutes.
• Rafael Nadal is your 2017 U.S. Open champion, winning his 16th major and third title in New York. The cynics will say that he won this with some help from the draw gods, all seven of his opponents residing outside the top 20, including Kevin Anderson in Sunday afternoon’s final. Unlike Nadal’s ball-striking, this analysis will be inaccurate. Winning his first non-clay title since early 2014, Nadal was at his Nadal-est, coming close to replicating the level he brought to bear during the clay season.

Healthy and teeming with confidence, Nadal showed off the full orbit of his game. The defense, the offense, the athleticism, the vastly underrated net play. (YouTube the point that won him the first set.) After losing the first set of his semifinal against Juan Martin del Potro, Nadal simply rolled, returning serves as though propped on tees, zoning those side-winding shots and taking early leads in all sets. He finished Sunday’s final winning 102 total points—including 16 of 16 at the net—and hitting 30 winners and 11 unforced errors on the match. We didn’t get Federer-Nadal but we got Nadal at his most elevated. If that is the consolation prize, sign us up.

Nadal is back at No. 1 and back atop the sport. And damn if he hasn’t earned it.
• Credit Kevin Anderson, a consummate professional who turned in the best Grand Slam result of his 10-plus-year pro career. As we saw in the women’s final, you just can’t simulate playing in a Grand Slam final for the first time. Everything from the ticket requests, to the nerves requiring a different level of energy calibration, to the knowledge that one match could completely redefine your career—it’s all different. Anderson played with poise for the first half hour. But he was broken at 3-3 in the first set and then the Mighty Nadal was awoken.

Anderson is a fine player who gives himself the best possible chances of success. He’s improved his game markedly since he came out of the University of Illinois. He’s recovered from injury. He’s benefitted from a sports psychologist and is unabashed to talk about it. But, outside of serving, he does nothing better than Nadal, lacks his lefty-ness and is not in the same class as an athlete or experienced player. Anderson had to turn in the serving match of his life to give himself a chance. When his roundhouses missed their mark, so did his title ambitions.
• Now that we’ve had our last gin and tonic of the summer—and the 2017 summer Slam season is, literally, in the books—let’s take a moment to reflect. Roger Federer started the year at No. 17; Rafael Nadal was barely clinging to the top 10. Neither held a major title. Both had entered their 30s. In Melbourne, everything breaks right, they play a dynamite five-set final in the Australian Open. The Republic of Tennis is thankful for the throwback tournament. Who knew it was a prelude to the rest of the year? In 2017, perhaps the two best players ever greedily hoarded the four majors, splitting them evenly. Far and away, they won more matches at the majors than any of their peers. They will continue battling for No. 1 through the fall, the dual axes on which the sport rotates. Adding in Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the Big Four has won 46 of the last 51 majors. Pick your player to back, but surely we can all agree: this era will never be replicated. </s> Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain in the men's singles semifinal match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships, in London, Saturday July 14, 2018. (Andrew Couldridge, Pool via AP) </s> NEW YORK -- Rafael Nadal entered the 2017 Grand Slam season on a 2½-year drought without so much as one appearance in a major final, let alone a title. He ends it having reasserted himself, capped by a U.S. Open final that shaped up as quite a mismatch -- and turned out to be exactly that.

His game at a higher level than it needed to be by the end of an unusually easy path through the field, Nadal overwhelmed Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to win his third championship at Flushing Meadows.

"Of course, after a couple of years without competing at this very high, high level,'' Nadal said, "very happy to be back.''

The No. 1-ranked Nadal collected his 16th Grand Slam trophy overall and at his news conference, he wore a white T-shirt listing the date and site of each one. Among men, only Roger Federer has more, with 19. Each of those two longtime rivals won two of the four majors this season, marking their return to the heights of their sport.

Nadal has dealt with knee and wrist problems, both likely a result of his physical brand of play, over his career, but 2015 and 2016 were his first seasons without reaching at least one Grand Slam final since 2004, when he was still a teenager.

Seems safe to say that, at age 31, he is once again the Nadal of old.

"I mean, I've always said he's one of the, obviously, greatest players of our sport, obviously feeling very confident,'' Anderson said. "He seems to have turned around a lot of those injuries he's experienced the last couple of years. I guess time will tell on that.''

At No. 32, Anderson was the lowest-ranked U.S. Open men's finalist since the ATP computer rankings began in 1973. The 31-year-old South African never had been past the quarterfinals at any major tournament in 33 previous appearances, so when he won his semifinal on Friday, he climbed into the stands to celebrate.

There would be no such joy for him on this day.

"Personally, it's just unbelievable what happened this year," Rafael Nadal said of winning two majors this year for the first time since 2013. "After a couple of years with some troubles, injuries, some moments playing not good." Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Nadal added to his U.S. Open triumphs in 2010 and 2013 and improved to 16-7 in Grand Slam finals. For the first time since 2013, he appeared in three in a single season, losing to Federer at the Australian Open in January, then beating Stan Wawrinka for his record 10th French Open trophy in June.

Nadal's career haul also includes two trophies from Wimbledon and one from the Australian Open. All of his big victories have come while being coached by his uncle, Toni, who is now stepping aside. The U.S. Open was the last Grand Slam event of their partnership.

It was not as daunting as usual.

Not since Pete Sampras at Wimbledon in 2000 had a man won a Slam tournament without facing any opponents ranked in the top 20. In New York, the bracket was weakened by the injury withdrawals of three of the top five men: past champions Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Wawrinka.

Plus, Nadal did not need to deal with Federer: The potential for a semifinal, which would have been their first U.S. Open meeting, was dashed when Juan Martin del Potro eliminated Federer in the quarterfinals. Nadal then beat del Potro , the 2009 champion but now ranked 28th, in the semis.

Much like Nadal's 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 win against Wawrinka at Roland Garros, the only beauty of this match was not in its competitiveness -- not by a long shot -- but in an appreciation for one participant's absolute superiority.

Forehands whipped up the line. Two-handed backhands ripped cross-court with ferocity. The spinning, back-to-the-net returns of serves that darted in at him at more than 130 mph (210 kph) and helped him break Anderson four times.

"I learned a lot of lessons,'' Anderson conceded. "It was a difficult match, up against somebody who has been on that stage over 20 times before.''

Nadal even came up with some terrific volleys, winning the point on all 16 of his trips to the net. Anderson, meanwhile, finished 16 for 34 in that category. Another difference-maker: Nadal never faced a break point, although that was more a reflection of his talent once the ball was in play than any particularly dominant serving.

With Nadal standing way back to receive serves, nearly backing into the line judges, he neutralized Anderson's most effective skill. Anderson came in having won 103 of 108 service games across six matches, but Nadal accumulated break points at will from the get-go -- two in a six-deuce game at 1-all, another two in a five-deuce game at 2-all.

Anderson began trying to end points quickly with a volley. Two problems with that: Anderson is not usually a serve-and-volleyer and so is no expert at that tactic; Nadal is superb at summoning passing shots at extreme speeds and angles, especially when facing the sort of target provided by the 6-foot-8 (2.03-meter) Anderson, the tallest Grand Slam finalist in history.

At 3-all, 30-all, Anderson double-faulted to offer up Nadal's fifth break point of the match, then badly pushed a forehand wide.

That only made the score 4-3 , but the statistics were telling: Anderson had 21 unforced errors, Nadal just four. A pattern had been established.

"That,'' Nadal said, "changed the rest of the match.''

When he broke to lead 4-2 in the second set , that was pretty much that.

"I always accepted all the challenges that my career present to me. The good news and the negative news, I accepted in the same way, in a very natural way. I am a person that I don't have much ups and downs,'' Nadal said. "When I am in a negative moment, I don't go very down. When I am in a positive moment, probably like now, I don't believe that I am that good.''

Rest assured, Rafa. You're good. </s> Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon championship, beating Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the final

LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic wins his fourth Wimbledon championship, beating Kevin Anderson 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the final.
Spain's Rafael Nadal defeats South African Kevin Anderson, 6–3, 6–3, 6–4, in the US Open men's singles final for his third championship at Flushing Meadows Park in the New York City borough of Queens. This is Nadal's second Grand Slam title this year, and his 16th overall.