<Tr> <Td> ← 2016 </Td> <Td> US Open </Td> <Td> 2018 → </Td> </Tr> <P> Stan Wawrinka was the defending champion, but was unable to defend the title due to a knee injury that ended his season prematurely . Wawrinka's withdrawal ended his streak of 50 consecutive grand slam appearances, dating back to the 2005 French Open . </P> <P> Rafael Nadal won his 16th Grand Slam title and 3rd US Open title, defeating first time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson, 6--3, 6--3, 6--4 . Nadal retained the ATP No. 1 singles ranking after Roger Federer lost in the quarterfinals . It was also Nadal's first hard court title since January 2014 . Anderson was the first South African man to reach the US Open singles final since 1965 and any Grand Slam singles final since the 1984 Australian Open, as well as the lowest - ranked male player to reach the US Open singles final since the ATP rankings began in 1973 . Anderson was also the tallest Grand Slam finalist in history . </P> <P> Novak Djokovic withdrew due to an elbow injury that ended his tennis season, ending his streak of 51 consecutive grand slam appearances, dating back to the 2005 Australian Open . Accordingly, this was the first men's singles draw at the US Open since 1971 to include neither finalist from the previous year's tournament . The withdrawals of Wawrinka and Djokovic, along with those of Andy Murray, Kei Nishikori (also ending his season), and Milos Raonic, meant that only 6 of the top 11 ranked players competed in the tournament . The draw was retrospectively adjusted after Murray's late withdrawal, but the timing of the withdrawal meant that Nadal and Federer remained in the same half of the draw . </P>

Who won the men's us open 2017