Rafael Nadal came back from two set down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the final of this year’s Australian Open to claim a record twenty-first grand slam title.
The world number six achieved the feat on Sunday afternoon at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
Nadal has now gone ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the all-time men’s standings.
Nadal’s victory also made it his second Australian Open title.
From 2-1 down, Medvedev won the next five games in a row and took the first set point that he created.
The Russian produced clean tennis throughout the first set, where he made just five unforced errors to Nadal’s 16. 6-2!
The second set, which lasted for 84 minutes, came to an end and saw Medvedev take the two set. 7-6.
Nadal took the third set which lasted 62 minutes with a clean forehand winner down the line. 6-4!
He also took the fourth with a 6-4 win to take the 2022 Australian Open edition into the fifth decider set.
Nadal consolidated an early break against Medvedev to lead 4-2 in the fifth and deciding set before taking it 7-6 to claim the title.
Nadal also dashed the 25-year-old’s hope of becoming the first man in the open era to earn his second major crown following his first.
The Sunday duel was the 5th time the pair will be meeting — extending Nadal record over Medvedev to 4-1.
