On Sunday, Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam singles tournament at the 2022 Australian Open by beating Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev.
There were doubts about whether Nadal would be able to play the Australian Open after a foot injury. The match started with Medvedev scoring 6-2 in 42 minutes. Nadal raced to the lead by scoring 6-4 in the fourth set. In the fifth and final set, Nadal sealed his victory by scoring 7-5 after 5 hours and 24 minutes.
In the absence of his greatest rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer, Nadal surpassed them by winning the most men's singles titles. In his court interview, Nadal said, "it has been one of the most emotional matches in my tennis career and to share the court with you [Medvedev] was an honor."
Medvedev thanked his team after the match and said, "I'm sure my wife is watching back home but I think the TV will be broken now." He accepted his defeat and commented in the post-match interview that, "he [Nadal] was really strong, the way he played for four hours, I was even surprised."
Nadal previously won the semi-finals by beating Italian player Matteo Berrettini.
Last year was a major setback for Nadal. He had missed both Wimbledon due to fatigue and the US Open due to a foot injury. Nadal said that, "One month and half ago I would have said it would be my last Australian Open, but now I have a lot of energy to carry on." In his post-match interview, Nadal said that he was "physically destroyed", and exhausted but victorious.
Sister links
Sources
- Rafael Nadal beats Daniil Medvedev to win Australian Open 2022, bags record 21st Grand Slam title — WION, January 30, 2022
- Jonathan Jurejko. Australian Open: Rafael Nadal beats Daniil Medvedev from two sets down in Melbourne epic — BBC News, January 30, 2022
- Matias Grez. Australian Open: Rafael Nadal wins record-breaking 21st grand slam after beating Daniil Medvedev in epic final — CNN, January 30, 2022
- Tom Hamilton. Rafael Nadal breaks the Grand Slam record: Is the men's tennis GOAT debate over? — ESPN, January 30, 2022
Source & Attribution
Originally published by Wikinews on February 1, 2022. Original author: Wikinews.
CC BY 2.5. Photograph: Rod Laver Arena in 2013, where the Finals of the 2022 Australian Open took place.
Image: Steve Collis. Photo: Steve Collis from Melbourne, Australia
- Uploaded by Flickrworker
Disclaimer
This article retains its original publication date. Subsequent corrections and updates supplied by the source are retained when available. Thames Weekly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the original publisher unless expressly stated. Text and photographs remain credited to their respective creators.
.jpg){kind=link}