An incredible battle in the Australian Open final, 5 and a half hours and Nadal’s record

The first Grand Slam of 2022 was played in Melbourne, Australia. The great duel between Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal rewrote history on several fronts. While Nadal was playing for a record 21st “Big Four” tournament title, Medvedev could have become world number one. In the end, the Spaniard rejoiced after sets of 2::6, 6::7, 6::4 and 7::5.

It was a solid battle right from the start, with the first game alone lasting six minutes. Both players were outplaying each other in terms of who could play the prettier winning shot and the crowd was tuned in from the first minutes. Only five games were played in half an hour, but we got our first break. The Russian tennis player got it, confirming the optical advantage from the beginning.

When the Russian got Nadal’s next serve and led 5::2 with the advantage of two service returns, the first set was practically decided. Moreover, the world number two served amazingly and easily took set number one with a 6: 2 ratio.

In the second set, the Spanish legend got more into the game. And when at 2::1 Nadal got Medvedev’s serve, the crowd applauded it with a huge roar. The Spaniard confirmed the break and led 4:1. Unfortunately for him, the advantage didn’t last long. The Russian regained his serve immediately and went to serve for the equaliser.

But Medvedev didn’t lose his serve either and it was Nadal again who was on top and had the serve to win the set. However, the Russian again got to break points. On his third attempt to break serve, a spectator stormed onto the court and the game stopped for a while. The game was incredibly long, with Nadal even getting a set point. But in the end, it was Daniil Medvedev who rejoiced after almost 15 minutes of play, reducing it to 4::5.

This time, the Melbourne crowd already saw an earned game on serve and both protagonists were thus level in the second set at five games each. Two games later, the tiebreak came. It was very evenly matched and it was really a close one.

The Russian tennis player was the first to reach a set point and immediately converted it on his opponent’s serve. After 84 minutes of the second set, Daniil Medvedev led by two sets and was one step away from the title.

The third set also started with a long game that attacked the ten-minute mark. The Russian held his serve and entered the set successfully. The players played relatively trouble-free on serve until 4::4, but in the ninth game came a great performance by Rafael Nadal and the Spaniard went on serve to win the set. Unlike the second set, it was a beauty on serve and the Spanish number one reduced it to 1::2 on serve with a clean game.

The trend of even games continued, with Nadal having more problems on serve. He fought for over 10 minutes in his very first performance on serve to level at 1::1. Both players then exchanged their serves and continued to battle for the fourth set.

Medvedev’s subsequent broken serve was confirmed by the Spaniard and he came close to levelling the match. The players got to 5::4 and Nadal was on the move again. After a clean game and 4 hours and 12 minutes, it was on to the fifth set. The title was thus decided by a de facto one-set match.

In this one, Rafael Nadal again got the breakthrough after a series of held serves at the start. At 2::2 on a break point, he pulled off a brilliant forehand down the line and a 0::2 set reversal was not far away. At 4::2 Nadal increased the lead after a game lasting 13 minutes and 38 seconds and the difference in mentality widened even further.

The Spaniard guarded the important points and served for the match at 5::4. This time, however, he did not handle his serve and allowed his opponent to level again. The three-set match became a two-game match.

Another broken serve meant a second chance for Nadal to end the match on serve. And this time, it worked. Rafael Nadal turned the match with Medvedev from 0: 2 to sets and made history by winning his 21st title, once again edging out Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, who were unable to attend the tournament for either health or coronavirus reasons.

Source: Australian Open