Rafael Nadal vs. Daniil Medvedev: Career Stats, Prediction for 2019 Men's Final

The 2019 US Open men's final will pit veteran star Rafael Nadal against Russia's Daniil Medvedev, one of the sport's top talents and fastest rising starlets.

The two are 10 years apart and at drastically different points in their careers. Nadal is looking for his 19th Grand Slam title; Medvedev is making his major final debut.

The 33-year-old Nadal has won 83 total titles, compared to Medvedev's five. At the age of 23, his win-loss record stands at 116-71; Nadal's is an astonishing 960-196.

Nadal beat Matteo Berrettini to reach the final:

Medvedev also needed just three sets in his win over Grigor Dimitrov:

The two have met just once, in the final of the Rogers Cup earlier this year. Nadal lost just three games in that contest, and will rightly enter Sunday's final as the clear favourite.

But Medvedev is on an incredible run on the hard courts this summer, carrying a 20-2 record into the final. Tennis writer Jose Morgado noticed similarities between him and Bianca Andreescu, who upset Serena Williams in the women's final:

Medvedev will be seeking a similar upset against a man who has seen it all at this point. Nadal is a three-time champion at Flushing Meadows, with his most recent title coming in 2017.

He'll be playing in his third Grand Slam final of the year, going 1-1 in the first two:

He lost the final of the Australian Open to Novak Djokovic, before beating Dominic Thiem to clinch the French Open title.

Nadal is 41-6 so far this year, while Medvedev has three more wins and 10 more losses. Both have won the last tournament they entered: Nadal at the Rogers Cup, and Medvedev at the Western & Southern Open.

The Spaniard has dropped just a single set so far in the tournament, in his fourth-round clash with Marin Cilic. Medvedev has needed four sets to win four of his six US Open matches, spending significantly more time on court.

Prediction: Nadal's experience on the biggest stage makes him the clear favourite, and while Medvedev is in excellent form, the skill gap is just too great. Nadal wins in four sets.