US Open 2019: 5 best men's matches from this year's tournament
The big story of the 2019 US Open was undoubtedly that of Rafael Nadal outlasting Daniil Medvedev to win his 19th Grand Slam title and 4th at the US Open. However, there were other players too who shone under the spotlight at Flushing Meadows.
Lucky losers Paolo Lorenzi and Kamil Majchrzak survived a pair of five-setters en route to the third round. Pablo Andujar and Dominic Koepfer made their first foray to the second week of a Slam. Stan Wawrinka ended the title defence of Novak Djokovic in the fourth round, while Alexander Zverev won a pair of five-setters to reach his first fourth-round in New York.
Grigor Dimitrov overturned a 0-7 head-to-head record against Roger Federer to stun the five-time winner in the quarterfinals. Matteo Berrettini reached his first major semifinal while Medvedev continued his tear on North American hardcourts with a fourth straight tournament final, and first at a Major.
During the fortnight at the last Grand Slam tournament of the year, there were several memorable matches. The following 5 stand out the most:
#5 First Round: Paolo Lorenzi beats Zachary Svajda 3-6 6-7(5) 6-4 7-6(4) 6-2
37-year-old Italian veteran Paolo Lorenzi came out second-best in a marathon 3-hour 34-minute 4-6 7-5 6-7(2) defeat to Czech Jiří Veselý in a third-round qualification match for the US Open main draw. But while preparing to play an exhibition match with compatriot Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzi received the unexpected news of Kevin Anderson's withdrawal, which opened up a lucky loser spot for the Italian.
Up against the youngest player in the draw, in American 16-year-old wildcard Zachary Svajda playing his maiden Grand Slam main draw match, Lorenzi made a slow start and fell behind by two sets.
Never before in his career had Lorenzi recovered to win from a two-set-deficit. But the Italian calmly set about his comeback by taking the third set 6-4 and prevailing in a fourth-set tiebreak to force a decider.
Afflicted by cramps, Svajda struggled to remain competitive, as Lorenzi belied his years to breeze through the fifth set for the loss of just two games to register the first victory of his career from two sets down.
Lorenzi would go on to beat another youngster, Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic, in five sets in the next round, before his inspired run would come to an end against 2016 winner Stan Wawrinka in the third round.