#3 Rafael Nadal (2017)
New York has a special place in Rafael Nadal's life as this was where he completed his Career Slam way back in 2010. Nadal won here again in 2013.
2017 was a year of revival of Rafa, after having suffered numerous injuries in 2015 and 2016. Remarkably, in both these years, neither Nadal or Federer won a single Grand Slam. Nadal came into the US Open 2017 with a chance to cement the year-end number one ranking.
This was one of Nadal's easier Grand Slam victories, as he faced five unseeded players in total.
The highest-seeded opponent that he faced all tournament long, was in the semifinal where he faced off against 24th-seeded Del Potro. Nadal swept aside 28th seed Kevin Anderson in the finals, to win his third US Open title at the age of 31 years, 99 days.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here