By Matt Gallagher
Rafael Nadal made history by winning his 21st Grand Slam title.
A gruelling five set win in Australia against Russian Daniil Medvedev helps move him ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic’s 20 titles.
The Spaniard won only his second Australian Open with an astonishing comeback.
He took the match 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 7-5 against the world number two.
It is the first time the 35-year-old has won a match from two sets down since beating Mikhail Youzhny at Wimbledon in 2007.
A match that the Spaniard labelled “one of his best comebacks,” took a whopping five hours and 24 minutes to complete – 1:11am local time.
Nadal arrived in Melbourne unsure how far he could go into the competition after a reoccurring foot injury.
He hadn’t played competitive tennis since the French Open last year.
After winning he was first to praise the amazing performance of his opponent stating:
“I know it’s a tough moment. Daniil you are an amazing champion.
“I have no doubt you will have this trophy a couple of times in your career.”
The first two sets went the way of the Russian in deserved fashion.
But with the majority of the crowd behind the Spanish star, Nadal was able to rally to victory.
Medvedev produced 76 winners – seven more than Nadal – and 52 unforced errors, 16 fewer than Nadal, but ultimately it was not enough.
The 25-year-old Russian was looking to make it back-to-back Grand Slams after his victory at Flushing Meadows in 2021.
Nadal will now be looking for victory in Paris in May.
He will be looking to add to his record-breaking 21 Grand Slams and a 14th French Open title.
There’s doubt if Federer will be able to compete in France after knee surgery.
Djokovic on the other hand – who didn’t compete in Australia due to visa and vaccination problems, will be there to defend his title.
Very nice article. Love to read about Tennis, especially Nadal.