Rafael Nadal won a record 21st Grand Slam men’s championship in a spectacular manner, rallying from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev of Russia in a classic Australian Open final.
Sixth seed Rafael Nadal fought to win 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 7-5 on Rod Laver Arena in front of a rowdy Melbourne crowd.
Medvedev, the US Open winner, was aiming for his second major championship in a row.
Before Nadal, 25, displayed all of his legendary guts and fight to clinch an amazing victory, Medvedev, 25, was in command.
The 35-year-old Spaniard has been at the center of some of the sport’s most remarkable victories, but this is without a doubt his most unbelievable Grand Slam success.
In the absence of Novak Djokovic, who has been deported, and Roger Federer, who is ailing, Nadal has gone one step ahead of his great rivals in the race to win the most major men’s singles championships.
Nadal’s triumph comes only months after he believed he’d never be able to play tennis again due to a foot ailment.
“Without a doubt it is one of the most emotional wins of my career,” he said after the trophy presentation.
The issue restricted him to only one tournament in the final seven months of 2021, while a bout of coronavirus in mid-December also left him “very sick with fever”.
Those setbacks meant the Australian Open was just Nadal’s second competitive event in five months, having won a warm-up tournament at Melbourne Park earlier in January.