In the end, after a five-hour, 24-minute battle of attrition, Nadal’s champion’s heart, resolute belief and extraordinary stamina delivered the most significant victory of his career — and a men’s record 21st Grand Slam title, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Nadal’s triumph, at 35, breaks the three-way tie atop men’s tennis history that he had shared with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, whose bid to compete in this year’s Australian Open as an unvaccinated played was denied by the country’s immigration minister, who deemed his presence a threat to public health and order.
It also solidifies his reputation as the sport’s fiercest competitor, a prizefighter in tennis garb, refusing to be counted out even while being pummeled by a challenger a decade younger.
Medvedev, who four months ago denied Djokovic’s bid for a 21st major with a straight-sets rout in the U.S. Open final, forced Nadal to produce his best. The Russian had him on the run from the opening game, making clear that he was prepared to run down any ball Nadal blasted his way.
Nadal, cheered throughout by a wildly partisan crowd at Rod Laver Arena, covered his face and stood in disbelief upon clinching the victory.
While Nadal’s pursuit of a 21st major was the story line that made the season’s first Grand Slam so compelling, he insisted throughout that it was not his driving ambition.
As recently as two months ago, Nadal had doubts he’d be able to resume his career after undergoing foot surgery in the fall. The only reward he sought upon returning from a five-month recovery, he said, was to be competitive again in the sport he has loved since childhood.
Reaching Sunday’s final exceeded his expectations, and he strode onto the court at Rod Laver Arena as a beloved underdog, cheered by a crowd that had come to witness history.
Medvedev was determined to make history of his own.
At 6-6 and 182 pounds, he’s as thin as a guitar string yet a tremendous mover and defender, with a blistering backhand down the line. He deployed all these assets to great effect against Nadal, who committed uncharacteristic errors in the early going, including a flubbed overhead and a rash of miss-hit and errant groundstrokes, while struggling to land first serves.
Medvedev broke the Spaniard early in the match and claimed the opening set with relative ease.
Nadal refused to concede. In a second set that was longer than some matches (84 minutes), he threw every variety of spin and pace in his repertoire to win a 40-shot rally that set up his first break. With it, Nadal took a 3-1 lead, and the crowd went nuts, cheering and leaping to display Spanish flags.
Although the match wasn’t yet 90 minutes long, it felt as if the outcome was at stake given the greater toll that long rallies were taking on Nadal. The chances of overcoming a two-set deficit against the fresher Medvedev seemed slim, and Nadal poured all he had into avoiding it.
The second set had it all, including five service breaks, an intruder on court who was corralled by security guards, and a squandered set point by Nadal, who at one point led 4-1.
A tiebreaker was required to settle it, and Medvedev erased an early deficit in that, too, to seize a two-sets-to-none lead.
With the odds looking insurmountable for Nadal, the crowd tried shouldering his load in a tight third set, shouting out as Medvedev stepped up to serve and cheering each time the Russian faced trouble.
Nadal did his part, too, fighting on, pummeled but determined. He broke for a 5-4 lead and served out the set to force a fourth.
Unlike Nadal, who put each missed shot and poor decision behind him to play on with a clear head, Medvedev sunk into a negative stew after failing to close the match in straight sets. After ignoring the crowd’s enmity for hours, the Russian lost his patience with the jeers and the applause when he double-faulted.
For the first time all match, he also looked weary and called for the trainer to work on his left quadriceps.
Amid chants of “Let’s Go Rafa! Let’s Go,” Medvedev got the break back.
With Medvedev serving at 2-2, Nadal finally converted a seventh break point with a wicked cross court passing shot.
On the changeover that followed, Medvedev lobbied the chair umpire to be more forceful with the crowd’s outbursts. “Can you take control, please!” Medvedev said. “A small ‘Please’ is not enough … [This is the] final of a Grand Slam. Step up!”
Up a break, Nadal stayed the course to force the fifth-set decider.
Nadal took his first lead of the match four hours, 40 minutes in, when he broke serve for a 3-2 advantage in the fifth set
He needed only to hold serve three more times for the victory.
On the changeover before Nadal served for the match at 5-4, Medvedev summoned the trainer a third time to knead his upper left leg.
Nadal was two points away at 30-love but couldn’t serve out the match, double-faulting and drawing a time-violation warning.
He broke back for a second chance to serve for the victory. Finally, it was all he needed.
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Rafael Nadal beats Daniil Medvedev to win Australian Open - The Washington Post
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