Final success at Australian Open
Nadal crowns brilliant comeback with all-time record
1/30/2022, 3:11 p.m
With 0: 2 sets, Rafael Nadal is behind in the final of the Australian Open, things are looking bad for the Spaniard. But then the tennis superstar countered one shot from Daniil Medvedev after the other. And after more than five high-class hours with 21 titles, he is the sole Grand Slam record champion.
Rafael Nadal cracked the magic 21 in a highly dramatic Australian Open final and crowned himself king of the Grand Slam tournaments. The 35-year-old superstar defeated world number two Daniil Medvedev from Russia in Melbourne’s witches’ cauldron after a grandiose comeback 2: 6, 6: 7 (5: 7), 6: 4, 6: 4, 7: 5 and is the sole major record champion one step above his great rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. “A month ago I didn’t know if I could return to the tour and now I’m standing here with the trophy,” said Nadal: “It was without a doubt one of the most emotional months of my career. The great support I received, stays in my heart forever.”
With the triumph in the 5:24 hour thriller, well after midnight (local time), Nadal won his 21st title in the four most important tennis tournaments in the world – the Swiss Federer and the world number one Djokovic, who was recognized before the tournament after a legal tug of war that was recognized worldwide at 20. For the fourth time in his career and for the first time since 2007, the Mallorcan turned a 0:2 set deficit – in the final in Melbourne no professional had ever managed this. “I can hardly explain what that means to me,” said the Mallorcan at Eurosport: “I don’t know how I did it, I’m just destroyed.”
For Nadal, who in the much-discussed race for the role of the greatest player in history, Djokovic in particular missed a setback that was difficult to cope with, the unexpected triumph after major injury problems is a real milestone. He was also only the fourth player to complete his second career Grand Slam after Djokovic and the Australian icons Roy Emerson and Rod Laver, he had previously only won the Australian Open in 2009. “Actually, I thought that this might be my last Australian Open, but now I have a lot of energy to continue,” said Nadal. “What Rafa did today is incredible,” said Medvedev.
Medvedev quarrels with the audience
Medvedev, on the other hand, failed to win his second major title immediately after his triumph in New York last September, something no player has managed to do since the introduction of professional tennis in 1968. For the 25-year-old, it was the second final defeat in a row Down Under, last year he clearly lost to Djokovic, whom he also wanted to attack in the world rankings. But he missed the chance to get very close to number one, which was originally the plan of Alexander Zverev, who failed early on.
The day after the big Australian party and Ashleigh Barty’s much-celebrated first home win in 44 years, Nadal immediately felt how difficult it would be to win against Medvedev. The almost flawless Russian dominated the first set. The audience loudly cheered on Nadal, who had always emphasized during the tournament that the Grand Slam record did not decide his luck. After months of foot pain and even thoughts of retiring, he shed tears of emotion after reaching the final. Now the exceptional player fought doggedly to find the match. That succeeded in the second set, and Nadal, who had defeated Medvedev in the 2019 final in New York, now acted at eye level and jubilantly spread his arms after the third round.
The left-hander got the second air and played much more aggressively in the fourth set, Medvedev, on the other hand, repeatedly got into skirmishes with the audience and lost focus at times. The final offered great excitement and was a brilliant conclusion to a tournament that had long been overshadowed by the legal tug of war over the entry of the unvaccinated top star Djokovic. Nadal coldly exploited the absence of the industry leader.