Rafael Nadal wins 21st Grand Slam after epic Australian Open victory over Daniil Medvedev

Rafael Nadal created history under the lights of the Rod Laver Arena as the Spaniard captured a record-breaking 21st Grand Slam title with his win in the Australian Open Final against Daniil Medvedev. Trailing two sets to love, Nadal displayed his legendary mentality and determination to come back and win his second Australian Open title 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 5-7 in five hours and 24 minutes.

With this win, Nadal now holds the record of the most men’s singles Grand Slam titles in history, surpassing his rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who are both on 20 majors each. Following his previous Australian Open triumph in 2009, the sixth seed has also become just the second player in the open era after Djokovic to win each of the four majors at least two times. 

Fittingly, Nadal was made to work extra hard for his greatest triumph in the sport as the Spaniard was put under pressure by the ice-cool Medvedev in the opening set, with the Russian starting the match in strong fashion and dominating from the baseline. The world number two forced Nadal into some uncharacteristic errors in the early exchanges, breaking Nadal’s serve twice to love to take the first set 6-2.

Nadal fought back hard in the topsy-turvy second set, which lasted 84 minutes and saw both players break each other twice. The 35-year-old held a 4-1 and 5-3 lead, but Medvedev was able to break back twice as well as save a set point on the Spaniard’s serve to force a tie-break which the Russian closed out with four consecutive points to take a 2-0 lead.

The match seemed to be slipping out of Nadal’s grasp when the Spaniard was down 40-0 on his serve in the third at 2-3, but the 35-year-old rallied to save three break points before breaking Medvedev’s serve at 4-4 to pull one set back. Nadal’s fightback continued in the fourth, breaking Medvedev in game three and drawing energy from the partisan Melbourne crowd to put the tiring Russian under the pump. Nadal went on the offensive in set four, firing 23 winners and serving out the set to set up the decider as the clock ticked past midnight.

Nadal’s physical dominance over the weary Medvedev was starting to show in the final set, with the world number five’s intensity reaching new heights as he broke first at 3-2 to climb into the ascendency for the first time in the match. However, the 2021 US Open winner showcased his championship mentality, fighting back from 4-5, 30-0 down to draw level as Nadal hit a double fault before clipping the net with a backhand on break point. Unfortunately for Medvedev, nothing could stand between Nadal and his shot at history as the 35-year-old broke back immediately before putting the final nail in the coffin on his serve to become the third-oldest man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam event.