Australian Open: Rafael Nadal defeats Daniil Medvedev in five-set epic to win record 21st Grand Slam title
Rafael Nadal rewrote the history books on Sunday after defeating Daniil Medvedev in a marathon Australian Open final to become the first man to win 21 Grand Slam titles.
The Spaniard battled back to win from two sets down for the first time at a Grand Slam in 15 years to complete a remarkable chapter in his extraordinary career, moving him one clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the Slam stakes.
His incredible 2-6 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-3 7-5 victory after five hours and 24 minutes finally finished at 1.11am local time and was his second triumph at Melbourne Park – his first since 2009 – making him only the second man after Djokovic to win every Grand Slam title at least twice since the sport turned professional in 1968.
The numbers only tell a fraction of the story after the 35-year-old feared he may have to retire only a couple of months ago because of a chronic foot problem and arrived in Australia unsure of what he could achieve.
After receiving the trophy, Nadal turned to his opponent, saying: “I know it’s a tough moment. Daniil, you are an amazing champion.
“I have been in this position a couple of times at this tournament. I have no doubt you will have this trophy a couple of times in your career. It has been one of the most emotional matches in my tennis career and to share the court with you is just an honour.
“I don’t know what to say. For me, it’s just amazing. Being honest, one month and a half ago I didn’t know if I would be able to be back on the tour and now I am here sharing the trophy with all of you. You don’t know how much I fought to be here. Thank you so much for all the support.
“Without a doubt, it’s one of the most emotional moments in my tennis career. The support I received through the three weeks is going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life.
“I really can’t explain the feelings that I have right now but I’m going to keep trying my best to come next year.”
Chronic pain in Nadal’s left foot 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 his second competitive event in five months, having won a warm-up tournament at Melbourne Park earlier in January.
Nadal sealed victory against Medvedev after five hours 24 minutes – and at 01:11 local time in Melbourne – when the second seed could not return a net volley on the first of the Spaniard’s three match points.
Dropping his racquet to the floor, Nadal stood motionless with his hands on his hips and his jaw dropped. After a warm embrace with Medvedev, he walked towards his support team and exploded with emotion.
A triple first-pump was followed by a drop to his knees, his hands covering his face as he looked up to the sky.
Nadal slowly walked over to his players’ box, hugging Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley, on his way to embrace his father Sebastian.
The intensity of his celebration illustrated the euphoria Nadal felt after the obstacles he had overcome – on the night and in the recent months – to win.
Previously in his career, Nadal had only won three matches from two sets down and the most recent of those came at Wimbledon in 2007 against Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny.
Victory came at the end of the second longest Grand Slam final in history, just 30 minutes short of the 2012 final at Melbourne Park when Nadal lost to Djokovic.
So much had he given to his record-breaking achievement that during the trophy presentation, Nadal was brought a chair so he could sit down rather than stand.
