When you’re going for the kind of history that Rafael Nadal was seeking on Sunday night, it shouldn’t be easy.
For Nadal, it couldn’t have been more difficult.
The 35-year-old needed five hours and 24 minutes in an incredible Australian Open final against Daniil Medvedev to become the first man in history to win 21 Grand Slam singles titles and the second man in the Open Era to complete the double-career Grand Slam. Nadal came back from two sets down to stun the world No. 2 and reigning U.S. Open champion 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
“If we put everything together, the scenario, the momentum, what (it) means,” the Spaniard reflected afterward, “yeah, without a doubt probably it [has] been the biggest comeback of my tennis career.”
That “scenario” was even more dire than a simple two-set deficit would suggest. Nadal also trailed 2-3, 0-40 in the third, when Medvedev capitalizing on a triple-break point situation would have all but ended the match. In fact, “this is all but over” is exactly what ESPN commentator Patrick McEnroe had to say at that point in the match.
Of course, the world No. 5 had other ideas. He dug out of the 0-40 hole, held for 3-3 to stay on serve in the third set, and the rest is history. Nadal ended up breaking at 4-4, served out the set one game later, and went on to break Medvedev in the third and fifth games of the fourth. The sixth seed ultimately gave back breaks in both the fourth and fifth sets, but as the enthralling encounter progressed into its sixth hour it was Nadal who held up better both physically and mentally. After Medvedev broke back for 5-5 in the fifth despite being two points from defeat, he turned in a loose service game with some wild forehand errors.
That allowed Nadal to serve for the championship again, and this time he made no mistake–clinching victory with a love hold.
With that Nadal achieved perhaps the most satisfying win of his career, and not just because of the history that was made. It also helped erase the demons of four Australian Open final losses–several in heartbreaking fashion–since his first triumph back in 2009 and it completed his latest improbable comeback from injury, this one a foot problem that had sidelined him for the last four months of 2021.
“I just wanted to keep believing ’til the end,” Nadal explained. “I just wanted to give [myself] a chance. That’s what I did. Just fight; just keep belief in trying to find a solution. Of course, I was lucky to save [0-40 in the third]. [There were] a lot of moments that can decide the final like this, no? He had a big advantage.
“But I don’t know. Tonight was for me (like) 2012, 2017, 2014 with the injury, too; I have been in that position a couple of times in my career here in Australia. Tonight has been unforgettable.”
It also won’t be an easy one to forget for Medvedev–and not in a good way.
“For sure (there were) some small points, small details that I could have done better if I wanted to win,” the 25-year-old Russian assessed. “But that’s tennis; that’s life. (It) was a huge match. Rafa played unreal; raised his level…. He was really strong; the way he played at four hours, I was even surprised. But, of course, we know how Rafa can play.
“Talking about tennis, I have not much regrets. I’m going to try to continue my best. Yeah, I’m going to work even harder to try to be a champion of some of these great tournaments one day.”
Medvedev is already a champion of one. Only a Nadal miracle prevented him from being a champion of two.
nice one, Nadal
Still cannot believe how he pulled this off. He seemed like easily the more fresher guy in the 5th. So weird that he outlasted an opponent 10 years younger and the best of the new generation.
I think Meddy was physically more tired than Rafa because of the long matches that he played. The match Vs FAA had taken a lot out of him I believe, and that’s why he was agitated during the Tsitsipas match when Tsitsipas pushed him to a fourth set.
Rafa on the other hand had paced himself nicely for his matches, and even though he suffered heat stroke in that Shapo match, he was able to recover with a two days rest before the SF.
I think I understand why Rafa would take a breather in the third set of each match (excluding the final of course) after winning the first two sets. He would play very well to win the first two sets (even against Mannarino, he pushed so hard to make sure he won the first set TB); he didn’t push hard to win the third because he knew his opponent would fight hard to win the third to stay in the match, he won’t want to exert too much energy to fight that when losing one point or two might cost him the set and then he at 35 might not be able to fight hard to win the fourth set, and the match might then go into a fifth set and even harder for him to win!
He was willing to forego the third set and let his opponent fought hard to win, so that came the fourth, he’s able to lift his level whilst his opponent would be more exhausted after fighting hard to win the third set. I think that strategy worked well for him for those six matches before the final.
Glad to see he is reversing the 5 set trends. AO demons are gone. Hopefully Wimby demons disappear this year.
To be honest, I was a little bit annoyed with that result. No disrespect to Nadal, just speaking my mind as I do but I think that’s a bad result for tennis.
I’ll be back when enthusiasm returns to a level that makes it worth allocating my time away from other things.
Until then, best of luck with everything.
“when my enthusiasm returns”
Bad result for tennis ? Haha
This is the best gift and result for tennis. Otherwise the entire tennis universe would not be lauding it. All the players both men and women have taken to social media to sing Hosanas. You just cannot stop but Marvel at what Rafa did yesterday ,he surprised only himself. There will be no tennis fan who will grudge this ,the only ones grudging are the bitter ( not the sane ones) Novak fans with their stupid theories and fallacies. Well good luck to them, they can keep crying and talk to themselves.
Btw who missed Novak at this AO? His fans were saying AO is dead without Novak and will be a flop. This AO was a resounding success and the tennis quality n matches in men’s section for sure was excellent. To me Rafa med , med- felix ,berretini ,- Alcaraz ,berretini – monfils , Rafa – shapo were the best 5 matches. The best thrills are only in 5 setters
Absolutely, it’s never a good thing when the wrong player wins and that doesn’t just apply to sport.
The “wrong” player wins? And just who plays God and decides who is the right and the wrong winner?
I don’t know whether to laugh or cry!
The same thing happened to Tsistipas at Roland Garros.
Nadal and Djokovic reached a point where they no longer felt fatigued and their age became irrelevant.
Whatever happened in 12 happened
Whatever happened in 14 happened
Whatever happened in 17 happened
Whatever happened in 19 happened
Whatever happened in 21 was destined to happen.
Is there a better way to win a second AO than yesterday and a better way to cross 20 than yesterday ? This was destined and planned by God for Rafa . Give him lot of disappointments but that one win will be so momentous and memorable ,it will sweep away all the disappointments and will be the perfect reward for the incredible work ethic and will be spoken of for years by the entire tennis fraternity as rafa taught every tennis player and all of us a lesson for life – keep fighting , never give up , keep believing and working hard. There is no other way and success will come to you.
22 sorry above 🙂
Solid comment. Bringing out hidden poetry talents…well done
19 slams by 2019 20 slams by 2020 ,can we dream for 22 by 2022 🙂
I know french will not be easy. Novak , tsitsi ,zverev , Alcaraz and Thiem ( if he gains back form) are going to spell trouble
Amazing. Congratulations aren’t really enough!
https://twitter.com/AlexThatcher6/status/1487920851743744000?s=20&t=AHz5oEZJAtVd7NAydvjC5w
Rafa was “colm” in the final game and played with positive “Acktitude” after being 2 sets down.
simply “onbelibable” guy.
Vamos Rafa.
Rafa’s 2022 Schedule, health allowing.
https://rafaelnadalfans.com/rafael-nadal-schedule-calendar-next-tournament-where-does-rafa-play-next-2022/
Why is Rafa playing Acapulco ? Needs to skip it.
N why Miami n not IW..isn’t he better at IW. Miami is too humid
He never won Miami, so now he’s hastily looking to reinforce his case for GOAT 😉
All credits to Nadal for what he has done.
However, all this reminds me too much of the story of Jesse Owens and Luz Long, when Luz advised Jesse to jump way before the board in his final qualifying attempt, to avoid the risk of another “fault”, as seen by the “impartial” German referees. So he had to jump much farther than needed, in order to be in a position to win gold.
Eventually, it seems that it will take Djokovic to break all the records BY FAR only to be recognized as the GOAT. Because otherwise there will always be those who will advocate for somebody else.
And I believe he will do that, break all the records by far. But, as a result, it will be only the latter generations that will accept him as the GOAT, because the numbers will not lie. The current generations will still be biased and look for some excuse, why somebody else should deserve to be called the GOAT.
You will find that being a good ambassador fdor the sport will be added to the number of slams and Novaxx will fall at that hurdle.
Like I said before, the fact that you say Novax instead of Novak, already disqualifies you from being a relevant participant of a discussion.
How can I take any of your arguments seriously, when bias is oozing from your every word?
What nobody really mentions is that Rafa won this final although he wasn’t at his maximum level: he was simply undercooked and he admitted this after the final. Most importantly, his serve was quite flaky.
It looks to me like Mats was quite to the point when he said that Nadal accepted his current limitations – I believe that this is how he won this tournament. I remember the Spaniard in the past fuming when his game wasn’t working and getting stuck on game plans that he couldn’t execute properly at the time. This time he accepted that he’s not quite prepared, that parts of his game will not work at times, that he’s not in the best physical shape. So he just did the most with what he got at any moment – and it was a quite impressive performance. Nadal played like never before in an important match and this can also be seen in his stats.
Rafa started poorly, then he recovered and should have gotten the second set (and maybe win in 4). Almost everybody expected that if Nadal doesn’t close it in 3 or 4 he has no chance in 5 – including Medvedev I believe, which most likely saw himself as the winner after the second set. The thing is that Daniil wasn’t fresh as a daisy either; he kept waiting for his opponent to fade but that never really happened. Like I said before, Medvedev is a very good player but doesn’t have the same mental strength as the former “Top 4”.
If Rafa doesn’t get injured again, I don’t see anyone stopping him at RG so he’ll reach 22 GSs. If he doesn’t overexert himself on clay, he should have a good shot at Wimbledon as well.
It’s interesting how Djokovic will react now. Omicron may render Covid-19 vaccination unnecessary so he may just be able to play without restrictions in Spain and France. Or he may get a proper exemption from vaccination thanks to some Serbian doctors. Or he might just get vaccinated, who knows. Anyway I don’t really see him missing from this year’s RG, but beating an in-form, confident and healthy Nadal in Paris is a different story.
In any case, if Rafa reaches 22 in June, I don’t see Djokovic ever breaking this most important record “by far”. The competition on HC is getting tougher and tougher, on clay it’s difficult for him, on grass it’s just one GS per year.
I believe that greatness is not necessarily something that can be quantified. It is a matter of perception, and regardless of how many records amasses Novax will probably be remembered just like Lendl – mostly in statistics and basically never when comparing someone with all-time greats.
I think that the debate will always be Roger vs Rafa, regardless of how many GSs each manage to end up with (or Novax for that matter).
This is exactly what I was talking in my post above.
You are in this current generation and being biased. And as you rightly say, “YOU think” that the debate will be Roger or Rafa.
No worries. Time will get this straight, and things will be regarded as they should.
Also, not really making sense bringing up Lendl, who won 8 GS. He never had a shot to be compared to someone who won 11, 12 or 14 GS. Hence only “mentioning mostly in statistics”.
Finally, the most interesting thing is this underlying disdain you keep displaying towards Serbs as a nation. You proclaimed yourself as being “an expert” about how things work in the Balkans, and that “Serbian doctors” will obviously do something that is not ethical just to help Novak.
Great job. I guess that in the dictionary, they will put your picture under Objectiveness.
Before Federer, Lendl was second in number of tournaments won, number of weeks as #1 (plus number of consecutive weeks) and year-end championships. Sure, he didn’t win as many GSs, but I don’t think that this is not why he’s not mentioned that often. He just wasn’t so likeable.
There’s no point in denying that there’s more corruption in the Balkans than elsewhere in Europe. I wasn’t implying that Serbian doctors generally speaking are dishonest, I just think that it’s not that hard for Novax to find a few ones that can scramble an exemption – and I’m not even thinking that they would do it for money (but rather out of misplaced patriotism). I mean just look at the falsified Covid tests that Djoker used to get his visa.
And you are in a position to claim that the Covid test in question is falsified?
That’s pretty arrogant.
Almost as arrogant as apointing yourself as the supreme authority for any topics related to the Balkans.
Concerned Citizen, there are indeed a few very convincing clues that something decidedly fishy happened with Novak’s PCR-tests. Interestingly it was a Serb – a physicist and former minister, who looked into the available evidence, which was supplied by the German weekly magazine “Der Spiegel”. This was true investigative journalism, and the pandemic was more important to the Serbian scientist than a single tennis player – even if this player is a national hero in his country! And I am sure, we will hear more about this.
But even if everything was ok with Novak’s covid-tests, we have to accept the even less appetizing scenario of him running around publicly without a mask instead of going ASAP into quarantene. Frankly, personally I think this is far more problematic than fiddling with a PCR-test! And please, do not give me the tired response that Novak did not know he was positive! That is bullsh.t! An PCR-test is only administered if someone had a positive quick-test or if someone experiences covid-like symptoms. In both cases immediate isolation is in order even before the results are there!
Personally I believe that Novak is not a callous person who would knowingly endanger other people. He is not a bad guy, but certainly misguided as far as covid is concerned. Therefore I believe it’s far more likely that he knew full well that he was not infected and that he was not endangering others! However, he might not have carefully thought about the wisest course of action, lol, if he wanted to make a convincing claim of having been infected! The German magazine journos joked, that the alleged PCR-test was in reality a failed intelligence test 😉
All this has nothing whatsoever to do with Novak’s nationality. I was never an ardent fan of Novak, the tennis player, and I freely admit that this had a lot to do with being a rafafan 😉 But I am also not Federer’s most ardent fan, and this has nothing to do with him being from Switzerland, lol! However, I always liked Novak as a person. He himself strikes me as being intelligent, eloquent and caring, although his parents often rub me the wrong way, which is of course not his fault. But the covid-related immigration drama produced a few missteps too many IMO, even if Tennis Australia doesn’t look too great either. Therefore I am very glad that these shenanigans have not been rewarded.
Personally I don’t believe in fate or destiny. But the fact that Novak’s absence left the AO-throne defenseless and led to Rafa’s instead of Novak’s record breaking 21st slam title is most certainly a huge cosmic joke 😄😄😄
Cheryl please write the glorious article about this momentous incredible match and achievement by Nadal yesterday. We can’t wait, we know it’s going to be a masterpiece as usual. So please write it up and tell us about the OFFICIAL GOAT rafael Nadal.
Sanju and Cristian P, don’t waste your time replying to foolishness. You know haters are gonna hate. Let them keep on hating. We are on cloud nine and rafael Nadal THE GOAT is at 21 grandslams and double career slam.
Vamos Rafa
Concerned citizen seems rational and not the petty kind. I also understand where most Novak fans are coming from as irrespective of what Novak does ,he will always be perceived as third because of the adulation for the other 2. However Novak is largely to blame for this as he at many times went over the top in many of his celebrations vs the other 2 and totally out off the fanbase. Secondly his fans are non stop on social media denigrating the achievements of the other 2 and literally trying to shove his achievements down other’s throats. It’s this attitude that’s upsetting. The amount of hate that has been directed at rafa by Novak fanbase this entire AO is extremely not in good taste . It’s like that are literally sending him negative vibes and energies to fail. All this because Rafa said ‘ Rules are rules and ones actions will have consequences ‘ which was nothing wrong to begin with however you need a rational mind to accept that . Now they are all over the town putting an asterisk beside rafas heroic slam and don’t even have the grace to offer a congrats. It’s exactly his fans despicable attitude that is causing Novak more harm than good and they don’t realise it .
Fed fans too at the begining gave Rafa a lot of hate however they have all come around as they know a person’s incredible work ethic cannot be grudged . It’s time for Novak fans to do the same
Novak fans pet grouse is that Rafa did not stand up for him. Why should he stand up for him when he holds divergent views on vaccination? If Rafa does not subscribe to the vaccination theory of Novak ,why on earth should he stand up for him. What the AO govmt did to Novak has nothing to do with Rafa ,so the hate is uncalled for. Hardly 3-4 players spoke up for Novak and no top player men or women side spoke up ,so where is the hate for other players ,why just Rafa ? This proves it is not about who stood up or not ,it’s just a way to denigrate rafas achievements as you did not want him to cross 20. Accept the shallow thinking .
And who the f&_- cares about the respect of Novak fans with such shallow thinking and negative energies ? Rafa has maybe three times the fanbase of Novak ,maybe more and that much love and respect suffices for him 🙂
Novak is a 9 time champion here ,has he ever received the crowd support that Rafa received yesterday or fed received in 17. The crowds brought the stadium down with their vociferous support. Novak never received even 50 pc of this ever at AO. Rafa was not liked at RG till 2010, the French did not warm up to the Spaniard but see today ,they embraced him, constructed a statue for him . Why ? It’s because his personality is such . He is by default a likeable person with incredible work ethic . Novak and Novak fans need to figure out what is stopping Novak from getting the love,he is way too polarising with his views and such a person can never be universally loved ,his tennis achievements notwithstanding.
No need for any additional respect for Novak, at least in my mind.
Feel free to say “I simply cannot stand that man / hate him, but he happens to be the greatest tennis player ever”.
That should suffice.
Do continue to love Rafa (or Roger, or whoever), just be true to say “he was really great, second only to Novak”.
😉
In your eyes and you can live with that. To us the greatest ambassadors of the sport are the best and that’s Fedal only
🙂
No worries, this brings us back to my original post, where I explain that the next generations will not be burdened by this biased way of thinking, and will instead look at the achievements.
Medvedev explained that nicely in one interview.
Besides, most of the great people throughout the history received the appreciation they deserve only after a certain time distance.
And history tends to repeat itself.
I’m guessing that you live in cloud cuckoo land.
Sanju,
I appreciate your defense of Rafa. But some rabid Novak fans will never hear you. This is what they do. Spread spiteful comments to denigrate Rafa. They are upset because Rafa has the double career slam and the most slam wins. They can’t handle it. So they will come here or elsewhere to spew out their anger.
I don’t want to waste my time even arguing with them. Because they will never hear me.
Correction.
The reason why you don’t want to discuss is because you have no meaningful counter argument to what I just wrote.
This approach is more fitting to immature people, and we all now you have many years of experience under your belt.
But, then again, this also falls into the same case of biased thinking that cannot be changed. And that is ok. No one is trying to do so. Feel free to think that way.
History will judge differently.
No meaningful counter is you and your posts reflected that. You wrote ‘ just call Novak the greatest player ever ‘ and that will suffice . It’s all what you Novak fans want. You will never get it . So keep fighting all your life and it will be exercise in futility.
Over and out. Take some rest and save some energy till RG . If rafa wins there , you will need more ammunition to discredit him . If Novak wins ,I need not even visualise the amount of gloating for triple career slam:-) BTW has the mother of all Novak fans updated her table yet which she conveniently spins to reflect only Novaks pluses:-) eg counting Olympics out n reason was it happens once in 4 years 🙂 insecure bunch.
You need to get a life. Find something worthwhile to do with your time. You have no argument. Novak lost to Med at last year’s USO in straight sets. He had his chance. Then he had another chance in this year’s AO. But he did not get vaccinated. He tried to bypass the rules. It did not work. So he was not there to hypothetically play Rafa in the semis.
Deal with it. This obsession with Novak as the GOAT, no matter what, is delusional. If you can’t respect what Rafa has done, then you are no tennis fan. You are just a blind, fanatic who lets hero worship get in the way of reality.
Hold your horses. You seem too excited.
Actually, with the level of your emotinal involvement, it is more accurate that you need to get a life. 😉
Like I already said, there’s no converting you/current blinded generation. History will give the final verdict.
Just be patient.
Rafa was, by far, a superior player to everyone in that AO 2022 draw. Rusty, yes, but once the rust had rubbed off over the initial rounds, I didn’t see anyone who could match his quality.
They say numbers don’t lie? They do. The fact that Rafa was seeded 6 was nothing to do with him being the 6th best player in the draw, it was only to do with being sidelined since RG last year apart from a couiple of matches in Washington in August. So, in my head, his seeding was irrelevant. I just knew he had as high as an 80% chance of biting that trophy.
I simply didn’t believe that all the pundits who picked Medvedev wouldn’t have bet their house on it.
I did want to say one thing. Last year when everyone was saying Novak was the GOAT, I reminded people that the story was not over yet. Once the big three retire then their careers can be evaluated. I also said what if Rafa wins the double career slam. It is simply premature to anoint anyone as the greatest ever before the top three retire.
I was right because Rafa did do it. He is the first to get to 21 slams. He has the double career slam. That cannot be ignored. Novak had his chance last year. But Med beat him at the USO. Novak made the decision not to get vaccinated. They is why he could not compete at the AO this year. That is on him.
Rafa had his greatest comeback at the AO. He showed his greatness. Everyone and his brother was picking Med to win the final. He will be the # 1 player. He has been the in form player for a while now. It is not Rafa’s fault that he did not play Novak in the semifinals. There were 97 men’s players who got vaccinated out of the top 100.
Rafa had to play the current best player on his best surface. He was down two sets. Who gave him a chance? But Rafa would not give up. He fought like a true champion. Enough said.
Funny enough, that is exactly what I’m saying.
Wait for the end, and then judge by the achievements, not personal taste.
Yet, this does not absolute you from not responding to my post above? 😉
Why were you Novak fans all ready to anoint him as the GOAT last year then ? Different rules apply when the stats are on Novaks side ?
Not me. But I am quite confident how the rest of the race will unfold.
And also patient enough to wait for the end to confirm my expectations.
Guys, please ignore and stop responding to them. They will stop barking. The more you feed/respond, more they throw garbage..
Lets enjoy the 21 and wishing for healthy 2022.