(Photo: Sky Sports)

Spain’s Rafael Nadal on Sunday defeated South Africa’s Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to clinch the 2017 US Open men’s singles title and the 16th Grand Slam title of his lawn tennis career.

Apart from the competitive opening set which lasted 58 minutes, Nadal never looked back once he broke Anderson’s service in the seventh game.

Although the African briefly rallied in the third set, he never made it count on the score board as the Spaniard breezed through to grab his 16th title which saw him joining Ivan Lendl and Fred Perry as three-time US Open winners.

Anderson who is currently ranked 32 in the world put up a great fight by saving break point after break point but so many of the mistakes that led to his defeat were self-inflicted as he served four double-faults and hit 24 unforced errors.

Sunday’s triumph was one of Nadal’s ruthless performances as he moved with the electric pace of his heydays and was flawless at the net winning all the 15 points he played there.

The victory also served as a befitting moment for his uncle and coach, Toni Nadal who would be stepping down after the tournament to concentrate on the family’s new tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain.