Rafael Nadal beat Daniil Medvedev in an almost five and a half-hour thriller of a final, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, to clinch the Australian Open on January 30.
The Spaniard, 6th seed in the tournament, became the first Australian Open Champion to have come back from two sets to zero down to win a Grand Slam since Roy Emerson beat Fred Stolle in 1965, a momentous achievement given he is nearly 10 years older than his Russian opponent, 2nd seed Medvedev.
With his 21st Grand Slam victory, Nadal passed Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the race for holding most Grand Slam men’s singles titles, a highly coveted record.
The win was quite emotional for Nadal, given he missed the entire second half of 2021 with a foot injury and even contemplated retirement.
The loss was also particularly consequential for Medvedev, as he missed a chance to claim his second straight Grand Slam, losing out on crucial points in the race for the men’s #1 ranking.