The 33-year-old Spaniard, who has won the US Open three times, most recently in 2017, won a protracted opening set against his 23-year-old opponent 7-6 after missing six break points and saving two set points at the Arthur Ashe Stadium at Flushing Meadows.

From that point on the 24^th seed found the going harder, and Nadal won the next two sets 6-4, 6-1.

Medvedev earned his first Grand Slam final appearance with a straight-sets win over Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.

The 23-year-old Russian, seeded fifth, won 7-6, 6-4, 6-3 against the man who had earlier ended 38-year-old Federer’s quest for a sixth US Open crown.

The focus of attention will now shift to the women’s final, where Serena Williams, one away from equalling the record of 24 Grand Slam singles wins held by Australia’s Margaret Court, meets 15th seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada.

"The first set was a little bit frustrating because I had a lot of free points and you don't want to be in the tie-break against a player like him," said Nadal.

"I was a little bit lucky in the tie-break but I survived and then finally I had the break and after that the match completely changed.

"I played with more calm and was more aggressive."

Medvedev’s penchant for provocative post-match celebrations and comments – after his round-of-16 win he thanked the crowd for booing him and giving him the energy to win – meant that the fans inside the arena were mostly with his opponent, the former world number three who has since fallen to 78 after a shoulder injury.

But the Russian was unfazed once again, this time marking his win with a polite nod of his head.

The dynamic of the opening semi-final was the same as the second.

"I felt he was much closer to the first set, but I won and that changed the momentum of the match," said Medvedev, who has now won 20 of his past 22 matches.