Rafael Nadal is seeking his fourth U.S. Open title and can move to within one of rival Roger Federer’s record with a 19th Grand Slam title.
Daniil Medvedev drew the ire of fans in the third round by tossing aside a towel offered by a ball person and making an obscene gesture toward the chair umpire.
It’s clear where the loyalty of fans likely will be at Flushing Meadows, New York, when the pair plays for the men’s championship on Sunday afternoon.
But as Medvedev said after he won that match – and the next one – the fans “being against me gave me so much energy to win. Thank you.”
He stopped the trolling as he got past Stan Wawrinka and Grigor Dimitrov in the next two matches, so it will be about the tennis in the final.
What to know:
The matchup
No. 2 Rafael Nadal, Spain, vs. No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, Russia
Just as with the U.S. Open women’s final, the opponents had met in the Rogers Cup final. Bianca Andreescu beat Serena Williams in both of those matches. Nadal won handily in Montreal, 6-3, 6-0, in their only previous matchup.
Medvedev, 23, is making his first appearance in a Grand Slam final while Nadal, 33, will be making his 27th, aided by his dominant 12 titles at the French Open. Medvedev has been to the final of his last four tournaments, winning in Cincinnati.
Medvedev had been dealing with a quad injury earlier in the tournament, but appeared fine in his straight-sets win against Dimitrov in the semifinal.Â