Spain’s Rafael Nadal won his third US Open title and 16th Grand Slam glory on Sunday after he thrashed South African giant Kevin Anderson in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4.
Nadal, also the world number one, who won here in New York in 2010 and 2013, added the US title to the record 10th French Open he captured in June, reported AFP.
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.
He’s now behind Federer’s record 19 Grand Slam titles just by three.
For Nadal, it was his fifth title of the year and 74th of his career while the $3.7 million winner’s prize boosted his earnings to a shade under $90 million.
For Anderson, who’s currently ranked 32 in the world, he had made it to a Grand Slam final at the 34th attempt. He was also 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.