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29 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 8 SEPTEMBER 2019 SPORTS US OPEN RAFAEL Nadal knows the door is open for him to overhaul Roger Federer and become the all-time grand slam record holder. Nadal is favourite to beat Russian Da- niil Medvedev in Sunday's US Open fi- nal and lift a 19th major trophy. Federer holds the all-time men's re- cord of 20 grand slams and at 38 his op- portunities to win another are waning, making the two match points the Swiss great squandered against Novak Djoko- vic in the this year's Wimbledon final all the harder to bear. Djokovic remains on 16 and while he will fancy his chances in Australia in January, Nadal will be odds on to pick up a 13th French Open title next sum- mer. Fitness permitting, the 33-year-old Spaniard has at least a couple more Ro- land Garros wins in him, so he is well aware victory at Flushing Meadows - where Djokovic, 32, was a big favourite until injury got the better of him - could be hugely significant when the final sil- verware is totted up. "Yes, but I always say the same - we're still playing," said Nadal. "Here we are. "When I arrived here, my goal was to produce a chance to compete for the big thing again. Here I am. "I've given myself another chance, as I did at Wimbledon, as I did in Australia, as I did at Roland Garros. That's the personal satisfaction. That's the per- sonal happiness. "You win, you lose. That's part of all the sport. Of course, I would love to be the one who achieve more grand slams, but I still sleep very well without being the one who has more grand slams. "I'm happy about my career. I'm very happy about what I'm doing. I'm going to keep working hard to try to produce chances. Sunday is one. It's just one more chance, that's all. "My opponents are going to keep play- ing. If I'm able to win on Sunday, OK, it will be amazing. If I lose, I hope to keep having chances in the future to add things. "But it's true, I would love to be the one to have more, yes, but you cannot be frustrated all day thinking about what your neighbour has that is better than you. "You have to be happy with yourself. You have to do it your way. If you are the one to achieve more, fantastic. If not, at least I gave my best during all my career. That's all." Nadal beat Matteo Berrettini in straight sets in the semi-final and now faces another big-serving 23-year-old in Medvedev. The fifth seed knows the size of the task he faces in his first grand slam final. "He's one of the greatest champions in the history of our sport," said Med- vedev. "He's just a machine, a beast on the court. The energy he's showing is just amazing. "To play him in your first final should be, I want to say, a funny thing. It's not going to be a funny thing, but it's going to be an amazing thing." Nadal eyes 19th Grand Slam title ahead of clash with Medvedev Rafael Nadal Roger Federer