Following a well-deserved victory against Italian Matteo Berrettini, Rafael Nadal is heading into the finals of the US Open 2019 against Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Rafael Nadal Overcome Berrettini
Rafael Nadal has managed to overcome Matteo Berrettini at the US Open semi-final, guaranteeing himself a spot at the finals. While Nadal was given a fair chance of winning, Berrettini has been long primed as a raising start. Yet, Nadal managed to take him down with a 4-0 soaring to victory on Friday, September 6.
Nadal had a tough first set, trailing after Berrettini time and again, but once that was past, he didn’t let his opponent to come even close to a tiebreaker. ‘I was a little bit lucky, no?’ Nadal said to media representatives later on. His victory against Berrettini has bought him a chance to play the world’s No. 5 Daniil Medvedev from Russia.
Medvedev is cited as one of the top names in the world of tennis. Only 23 years old, Medvedev has been fast-progressing towards one title after another. Playing against Grigor Dimitrov, the Bulgarian who had eliminated Roger Federer, Medvedev nearly collapse on the court.
Yet, his defensive style allowed him to wear Dimitrov down and eventually won convincingly across the sets. Commenting on that match, Medvedev set that he had been lucky to win against Dimitrov in the first set.
Berrettini: Formidable, But Not Experienced
Back to the game with Berrettini, the young Italian is definitely a name that will be climbing the rank list moving forward. His height, though, also puts him at a slight disadvantage compared to opponents. With his 1.95 metres and 90 kilograms, the athlete is definitely one of the tallest players out there.
Yet, he has an exceptional backhand as well as a great stopping power that allows them to play through even the hardest opponents. However, that wasn’t enough to help Berrettini withstand Nadal’s calculated play.
Following the first set between the pair when Nadal faltered and nearly gave up on set, the game went in the way of the Spaniard. Nadal had won the set and the following contests were convincingly won by him for a total of 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-3.
Earlier during the tournament Novak Djokovic had to walk away on a game against Stan Wawrinka, as the Serbian had been complaining from a shoulder pain. Similarly, Nadal had faced pains and perhaps one of the reasons why he dominated on clay is that his body doesn’t have to bear the burden of years of competitive tennis.
The final is now decided and Rafael Nadal will face Daniil Medvedev will meet in the U.S. Open 2019 finals. Medvedev is still the world’s fifth player and interestingly has five titles under his belt. The match will be played on September 8 at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.
