Rafael Nadal won the Australian Open with his epic final victory over Daniil Medvedev, bringing a record 21 Grand Slam titles.

After a playing time of 5:24 hours, Nadal won in five sets with 2:6, 6:7 (5:7), 6:4, 6:4 and 7:5 for second in the world rankings from Russia. It was the second longest final in the tournament’s history. 13 years ago, Nadal won his only trophy at the Australian Open.

The 35-year-old Spaniard wrote tennis history with her. Because Melbourne’s success was his 21st Grand Slam win. So far, Nadal has shared the record with Novak Djokovic (Serbia) and Roger Federer (Switzerland).

“It was one of the most emotional matches of my career and I congratulate Daniel on his performance. He will win the championship many times in the future,” Nadal said. The winner especially thanked the spectators: “I’ve had great support over the past few weeks.”

Medvedev at first is very cool

For a long time Nadal didn’t look like the great victor, although the Spaniard had a near-sold-out Rod Laver Arena crowd behind him from the start. Again and again, spectators beat the islands of Mallorca forward. Medvedev remained calm and did not let that bother him at first – the Russian scored the decisive points, winning the first round relatively easily after 42 minutes.

The crowd whips Nadal forward

The second set in particular was incredibly competitive and lasted over an hour. Nadal was already 4-1 ahead before one break followed by another. Both finalists didn’t play their best tennis at this point, but it was exciting. In the end, the lean Russian narrowly won the tiebreak 7:5 and was clearly on his way to victory.

In 3:2 and 40:0, Medvedev had three balls on his side in the third set. But Nadal resisted and made it 3-3. The turning point in this match was unforgettable.

The spectators raged and cheered loudly at the favorite audience, who, in turn, encouraged them to do so with their fists. Sympathy was clearly distributed. Medvedev did not find it funny at all. When he made a slight foul, he applauded with disdain as the audience celebrated Nadal’s points victory.

Nadal turns things around

Indeed, with enthusiasm in the stands behind him, Nadal secured the third set after more than three hours of play. And that had an effect, because Medvedev lost his rhythm more and more, while Nadal got a second breath and managed to add more power. Nadal won the fourth set 6:4 to thunderous applause.

It was already midnight in Melbourne when the crucial set began. Both players were now at their physical limits. The momentum was clear, however, with the Spaniard, who still had fans on his side and was able to secure a third and four-set win in the final round.

The two players gave their all again and showed world class tennis despite the empty tanks. Nadal managed to correct minor errors in the first rounds and showed more willpower than the Russians.

short nervous flutter in spanish

In the fifth game of the fifth set, Nadal got the second half to make the score 3-2. When he hit tennis history at 5:4, his nerves briefly threw a wrench in the works – Medvedev, who never gave up, tied the 5:5. Pure drama long after midnight in Melbourne. Nadal realized himself at the crucial moment and won the set 7:5. Then he got on his knees to thank his team. Kissed his father on the forehead.

A standing ovation erupted again when Nadal declared in an interview with the winner: “I will do everything to be here again next year.” For Nadal, this is his second victory in Melbourne after 2009. In between, he had left Rod Laver Arena as a loser four times.

Those: sportschau.de