Rafa Nadal-Kevin Anderson: US Open Final - live online

Rafa Nadal and Kevin Anderson will face off for the US Open title on Sunday evening in New York with the Spaniard the heavy favourite to add to his 15 Grand Slam titles in his 23^rd major final against the late blooming South African, playing in his first.

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Nadal - Anderson: profiles at a glance

Nadal and Anderson share the same age but little else. The Spaniard and current world number one turned professional in 2001 and has racked up 855 career wins while Anderson, who came through the US collegiate system, did not become a pro until 2007 and has just 262 victories under his belt – Nadal has won 203 matches in Grand Slam competition alone.

Nadal has won 73 career titles to Anderson’s three with the South African having never got past the quarter-final of any Grand Slam or Masters tournament until his current run at the US Open. The Spaniard won the French Open in June and reached the final in Australia earlier this season.

Then there is the height issue: Nadal stands at 6ft 1in, a full seven inches shorter than the towering South African. In the semifinals Nadal faced a player of similar size in Juan Martín del Potro and that will serve him as he attempts to defuse Anderson’s thunderous delivery, which bears many similarities to the Argentinean’s booming serve.

The road to the US Open final

Anderson sent down 22 aces in his semi-final against Pablo Carreño Busta and that will be his biggest weapon against Nadal, who ranks third in terms of returning stats this season and has converted over 40 percent of his break point opportunities in 2017.

Nadal has been gradually improving throughout the tournament after dropping the first set of his opening two matches against Taro Daniel and Leonardo Mayer and has since ceded just one, against Del Potro, after which he outplayed the Argentinean in the remaining three for the loss of just five games.

Neither player has faced a top-10 opponent on the road to the final and that will certainly play more into Nadal’s court with his vast experience of the big stage also a factor working against Anderson, who has won just 12 matches against top-10 opposition in his career and never beaten a player ranked higher than number three.

Nadal - Anderson: head to head record

None of those were against his opponent on Sunday: Nadal holds a 4-0 advantage in their career head-to-head and has dropped just one set to Anderson, whose injury ravaged 2016 makes reaching the final of a Grand Slam a notable achievement in itself.