Rafael Nadal vs Alexandr Dolgopolov live stream
Sep 2, 2017; New York, NY, USA; Rafael Nadal of Spain serves against Leonardo Mayer of Argentina (not pictured) on day six of the U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. USA TODAY Sports / Geoff Burke

World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has positioned himself to capture Grand Slam No. 16 Sunday (Monday in Australia) when he faces South African journeyman Kevin Anderson in the US Open final. The Spaniard will enter his third Grand Slam final of 2017, less than a year after undergoing a career-threatening surgery.

Nadal enters his fourth US Open final on the back of an impressive four-set victory over Juan Martin del Potro in the semi-final. After conceding the first set to the big-serving Argentine, Nadal delivered a fierce counter punch in the second set before coasting through the third and fourth sets to put away Del Potro, the man who eliminated pre-tournament favourite Roger Federer in Wednesday's semi-final.

Anderson, 31, has won just one set against Nadal to date and was pummelled in straight sets in their only previous Grand Slam meeting at the 2015 Australian Open. Despite his poor career head-to-head record against the Spaniard, Anderson is determined to spoil Nadal’s sweet 16 celebration.

2017 US Open: Anderson out to spoil Nadal's sweet 16 party

"You know, Nadal’s, I think, one of the greatest competitors in sports, period. He’s an amazing fighter. You know, he really controls the court well, you know, the few times I have played him. I really need to be dominant and control proceedings as much as possible, because if you let him do it, it’s very difficult," said Anderson, the lowest-ranked US Open finalist since the ATP rankings began in 1973.

Nadal and Anderson have known each other since they were 12. On the eve of the final, Nadal said he was rooting for the South African during his trysts with injuries. "He had some injuries so he’s a big example for the kids and for the rest of the tour too. He was able to be back and play his best tennis now in his career so I’m happy for him because I know him since we were 12 years old playing. It’s great to see him in a final of one of the most important events of the year."

By hoisting the 2017 US Open trophy, the 31-year-old Rafael Nadal would cap off one of the best years of his storied career. After losing a five-set thriller to Federer at the Australian Open, Nadal raced to a tenth Roland Garros title without dropping a set before reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking after three years. He prevailed at Flushing Meadows in 2010 and 2013, besides suffering a loss to Novak Djokovic in the 2014 final. Rafael Nadal vs Kevin Anderson live streaming, US Open final live streaming, tennis live streaming info follows.

2017 US Open live stream: Rafael Nadal vs Kevin Anderson
Men's final
Start time:
6 a.m. Monday (AEST), 4 p.m. (Local Time, ET)
On TV: ESPN (Australia), ESPN, ESPN 2 (USA)
Live Stream: Tennis TV (Global), WatchESPN (Australia), Watch ESPN (USA)