MELBOURNE, Australia – Searching for inspiration when he was down two sets and facing triple break point Sunday night at Rod Laver Arena, his prospects of winning a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam men’s singles title almost shot, Rafael Nadal thought back to some of his most difficult defeats.
Renowned for his athleticism, competitive spirit and perseverance to the final point, the 35-year-old Spaniard dug deep in that critical moment and won the next four points to survive the immediate threat from Daniil Medvedev. Minutes later, Nadal held for 3-3 in the third set and swung the momentum of the Australian Open final in his favor.
It took a lot of time and considerable effort, but with a dramatic 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 comeback win that lasted 5 hours and 24 minutes – by the time it was all over, it was after 1 a.m. Monday local time – Nadal now has one more major title than Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, his longtime rivals in the so-called Big Three.
He was the only one of the accomplished trio who had a chance to take sole possession of the record at the year’s first Grand Slam event. Federer, the 40-year-old Swiss star whose most recent major title came four years ago at Melbourne Park, is still recovering from knee surgery. Djokovic, the 34-year-old Serb who was seeded No. 1 this year after winning three of the past four majors, was sensationally deported from Australia on the eve of the tournament because he wasn’t vaccinated against COVID-19.
It’s all history now that Nadal has become just the fourth man to win all four of the sport’s major titles at least twice, joining Djokovic and Australia’s Laver and Roy Emerson.