US Open Tennis 2017: Men's Final TV Coverage, Live Stream and Pick

A familiar face will grace the stage again in the 2017 U.S. Open men's tennis final, but a surprise upstart could deny him another accolade.

Rafael Nadal is back in a Grand Slam final, which is no shocker considering he's been in such a situation 22 previous times. Meanwhile, opponent Kevin Anderson has never appeared in a major final.

When: Sunday, Sept. 10; 4 p.m. ET

Television: ESPN

Live Stream: WatchESPN

Preview

In a tournament missing arguably three of the top five players in the world in Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, this type of final was destined to happen.

The lack of elite competition made it almost certain that either Roger Federer or Nadal would advance from their side of the bracket. The missing stars did give lower-ranked players a chance to make a serious run, and that is just what Anderson was able to accomplish.

Both players enter this match coming off four-set wins—each dropping the first set 6-4—but their paths to this point have been relatively stress-free.

Anderson did not face a seeded opponent until the quarterfinals, but he still impressed by knocking off No. 17 Sam Querrey in four sets before doing the same to No. 12 Pablo Carreno Busta, who had not dropped a set previously.

In addition to becoming the first South African to play in a U.S. Open final, the No. 28 seed has made plenty of history with his play, per The Times's Stuart Fraser:

Still, the undeniable fact is that Anderson was given a great opportunity to make such a run thanks to the slew of injuries to elite players.

Per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times, the 31-year-old acknowledged that in his on-court interview after confirming his place in Sunday's final:

He will have to take down a perennial star to claim his first major title, though, but it hasn't been completely smooth sailing for the Spaniard so far.

Despite semifinalist Juan Martin del Potro being his only ranked opponent, Nadal has gone to four sets in three of his six matches and has twice dropped the first set. However, it should be noted he was 0-7 entering this tournament when losing the first set this season, so he has shown a new level to his game.

As a result, he could end up in more prestigious company with a win Sunday, per the ATP:

From a numbers standpoint, the two-time U.S. Open champion is the undisputed favorite against Anderson.

The Spaniard is 4-0 against the South African, but all three of his hard-court victories came in 2015 or earlier. Still, Anderson has only won one set in those matches, so he will have to pull out some magic to get a win.

Anderson tends to play conservatively and wait for his opponent to make a mistake. That strategy could be challenging against Nadal, who is averaging just over 24 unforced errors a match in this tournament. Nadal was also able to dominate a similar type of player in Del Potro over the final three sets during his last match.

Anderson also relies on a heavy serve, which has allowed him win at least 80 percent of his first serve-points in five of his six matches. However, Nadal has also been adept at stealing service games, averaging just over six breaks per match thus far.

The key for Anderson pulling the upset will be to win the first set. Nadal is a ridiculous 47-2 when taking the opening frame this season to go with a 94.6 percent career rate. Again, he was winless in such situations before this tournament, so this looks like his lone minor vulnerability.

Anderson sports a decent 5-12 mark when losing the first set this year, but he is 18-3 when winning it. 

This will surely be a competitive match, but the more experienced Nadal looks like a safe bet to win his third U.S. Open title. Anderson will take the match to at least four sets, but his tremendous run will fall just short on Sunday.

Pick: Nadal wins in four

U.S. Open statistics are courtesy of USOpen.org, while career and season statistics are courtesy of ATPWorldTour.com unless otherwise noted.