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Daniil Medvedev almost stole the US Open trophy from Rafael Nadal after turning from tournament villain to hero in a remarkable final.

After finally winning over New York's hardcore fans, Daniil Medvedev hopes his valiant attempt at a miracle US Open comeback win over Rafael Nadal is enough to convince tennis's next-gen stars they can end the reign of world sport's most successful triumvirate.

Medvedev threatened to pull off the greatest Houdini act in grand slam history after fighting from two sets and a service break down before succumbing 7-5 6-3 5-7 4-6 6-4 in a gripping final.

"Third set when I was break down, I was thinking, 'OK, in 20 minutes I have to give a speech. What do I say? Something like this'," the Russian said after taking Nadal to the brink in a four-hour 49-minute classic on Sunday.

"I was like, 'OK, OK, just fight for every point, don't think about these things. It worked out not bad.

"Was I close to winning? Yes, one set away. I mean, had break points at 5-4.

"I will remember everything of it.

"I will be disappointed with the result but I will be happy with the way I played the whole summer, the whole US Open."

Indeed Nadal hailed the 23-year-old's effort - in joining legends Andre Agassi and Ivan Lendl as only the third man to reach four successive hardcourt finals in Washington, Montreal, Cincinnati and New York - as one of the most amazing summers he'd ever seen.

And despite falling short of snapping the 12-slam winning streak of Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, Medvedev hopes his colossal effort inspires the young brigade and provides belief that the dominance of the big three will soon come to an end.

"I can say that I'm sure all of us, we're fighting our best to try to make this transition," said Medvedev, who spent most of the tournament playing the part of pantomime villain before ending it as a fan favourite for his epic display against Nadal.

"It's really tough because these guys, they are playing good tennis. I don't know what else to say. They are just playing amazing tennis.

"It's really tough to beat them, even to get a set from them, even every game to win is tough.

"We're just doing our best job to try to make it happen sometimes."

In a golden era that will likely never be repeated, Federer, with 20 slams, Nadal, 19 and Djokovic 16, have won 55 majors between them over the past 16 years.

But the trio are now 38, 33 and 32 respectively and their show can't go on forever.

Medvedev will rise to a career-high No.4 in the world on Monday behind only Djokovic, Nadal and Federer.