Rafael Nadal got to 21 first, breaking the men’s record for most Grand Slam singles titles and doing it the hard way by coming back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in an almost 5 1/2-hour Australian Open final that didn’t finish until the early hours of Monday morning.
He was broken when serving for the championship at 5-4 in the fifth set but made no mistake the next time.
At 5 hours and 24 minutes, it was the second longest Australian Open final after Novak Djokovic beat Nadal in five sets in 5 hours and 53 minutes in 2012.
The 35-year-old Spaniard now has one more than Roger Federer and Djokovic, his long-time rivals in the so-called Big Three.
With the 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 win that started Sunday night and was delayed for a while in the second set when a protester jumped onto the court, Nadal also became just the fourth man in history to win all four of the sport’s major titles at least twice.
Nadal won his first Australian Open title in 2009 and lost four other finals at Melbourne Park before his dramatic win over U.S. Open champion Medvedev. His conversation rate in major finals is now 21 out of 29. Federer and Djokovic each have 20 majors from 31 finals appearances.
His victory was even more remarkable considering Nadal flew to Australia with just two matches under his belt in the second half of 2021 because he was sidelined with a chronic foot injury that can be treated but not cured. He also had a bout of COVID-19.
Let us take a look at some of the reactions to Nadal’s dramatic victory on microblogging website Twitter:
A final of Herculean proportions, thank you for a brilliant contest @RafaelNadal and @DaniilMedwed. Two AO crowns and 21 majors, given everything you have endured this historic victory is so special Rafa. It has been a privilege to watch you doing what you love. Congratulations
— Rod Laver (@rodlaver) January 30, 2022
Tremendous respect @RafaelNadal heroic effort.. @DaniilMedwed many more GS titles to come, great fightWhat a final — Chris Evert (@ChrissieEvert) January 30, 2022
A LEGEND! ⭐️
Congratulations, @RafaelNadal!! https://t.co/XnDVmTYiuc
— Barbora Strycova (@BaraStrycova) January 30, 2022
This final was sooo inspiring ❤️ wow so much respect for Rafa @AustralianOpen — Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (@NastiaPav) January 30, 2022
What a final @AustralianOpen @DaniilMedwed @RafaelNadal !!
— Stanislas Wawrinka (@stanwawrinka) January 30, 2022
Mamita!!! #21 @RafaelNadal — diego schwartzman (@dieschwartzman) January 30, 2022
With inputs from AP