Rafael Nadal slam dunks Fed and Djoker with legendary 21st major title
Rafael Nadal has left Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in his wake after coming back from the dead.
No amount of superlatives can do this justice. Rafael Nadal has won a history-making 21st major title in a monumental Australian Open victory over Daniil Medvedev that finished in the early hours of Monday morning at Melbourne Park. If you weren’t on the edge of your seat, you were probably hiding under it. Such was the tension.
Nadal looked down and out when he trailed by two sets to love before roaring home 2-6, 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. He served at 5-3, 30-0 in the final set but blew it. He recovered to become the first man to win 21 slams, leaving Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in his wake. His folkloric career achievement came in suitably legendary fashion. This was a pulsating, nerve-racking match of exceptional quality and drama that lasted five hours and 24 minutes, finishing at 1.11am.
Medvedev denounced the Melbourne Park crowd as “idiots” before succumbing to Nadal’s lion-hearted resistance. The Spaniard resembled an ageing boxer winding back the clock to pack the same relentless punches as he did in his glory days. This might have been the most glorious of the lot.
You wouldn’t have believed Nadal’s comeback unless you saw it with your own eyes. After losing the third set, Medvedev angrily demanded the ball kids change their routines and then sneered his objection to the crowd for supporting Nadal. What did he expect? Sentimental favouritism was all the Spaniard’s.
The 13,000-strong audience acted accordingly. If Medvedev was surprised, the idiot wasn’t in the stands – but Medvedev deserved enormous credit for his role in a genuine thriller.
“Step up, man. It’s the final of a grand slam. Please isn’t enough. They’re idiots. With idiots, please isn’t enough,” Medvedev said when asking umpire John Blom to calm the audience. Blom warned the unruliest they would be removed by security if they didn’t shut their traps.
Nadal was defiant and in the end, refused to be defeated.
They were both out on their feet at various stages but dug deep. Nadal blew the roof of the place when he won the third, fourth and fifth sets. The Rod Laver Arena crowd made its biggest roar since Ash Barty’s final forehand winner against Danielle Collins. Nadal winning the men’s title after Barty’s soul-stirring triumph meant the feel-good Open was complete.
They were so exhausted they started drop-shotting each other to death. Medvedev stared at Nadal between points. He constantly walked backwards to the baseline to keep his eyes on his prey. Most players concentrate on their own side of the court. Medvedev was playing the man.
The crowd was quiet and dispirited after the second set. So was Nadal. You were tempted to throw in the towel on the ageing boxer’s behalf. He still had the desire, the warrior heart, the belief. He wanted to take Medvedev to what a pugilist would call the deep water. Rounds 10, 11 and 12.
Right when he looked down and out, Nadal revved himself up to the eyeballs and hit blinding groundstrokes and fed off the crowd’s roars just to hang in there. He threw everything at Medvedev even when he looked likely to run out of kitchen sinks. Late in the second set, Medvedev hit a routine crosscourt backhand that Nadal didn’t have the legs to get to. He would have reached it in a heartbeat in his glory days. But still he found a way to keep moving.
Medvedev played with the unblinking aura of an assassin, a stone-cold killer – until he panicked late in the third set. He appeared to be more tired than Nadal. He started guzzling pickle juice at the changes of ends, a sure sign a player is worried about cramps. Nadal had all the momentum and deafening crowd support at the start of the fourth set. He was hitting his forehand an average of 20km/h faster than the opening sets.
After three-and-a-half hours, Medvedev called for the trainer. Nadal sensed the Russian was labouring, hitting six drop shots in a single game to test how bad the cramps really were. Nadal broke for 2-1 in the fourth set. Medvedev broke straight back. Nadal broke again. So did Medvedev. They went to a fifth. Great drama, tension and shotmaking as the clock passed midnight and then 1am. Nadal was serving at 5-4, 30-0 but lost the game. Medvedev hung incredibly tough, but Nadal’s warrior performance was tougher.
Nadal said he thought his career was over six weeks ago. He was forced off the tour by a foot injury last year that threatened to bring his playing days to a premature end. “It has been one of the most emotional matches of my tennis career and to share the court with you is just an honour,” he told Medvedev in the post-match ceremony.
“So all of the best in the future.”
“It is just amazing. A month-and-a-half ago I didn’t know if I would be back on the tour playing tennis again and today I am here in front of all of you having this trophy with me. You don’t know how much I fought to be here. I can’t thank enough all of the support I received since I arrived here. You are just amazing. Thank you for the love and the support. Without a doubt probably one of the most emotional ones in my tennis career and having the huge support that I received during the three weeks, it is just going to stay in my heart for the rest of my life. So many, many thanks.”
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