Rafael Nadal pictured the morning after his historic win.Credit:Eddie Jim
The five-set epic,which lasted five hours and 24 minutes and finished at 1am (AEDT),will be remembered as one of the great Australian Open finals,with Nadal storming back from a two set deficit.
He was feeling the pain - literally - on Monday,but that was eased by knowing he had gone ahead of an injured Federer and an unvaccinated Djokovic for most men’s singles major titles.
A gracious Federer and Djokovic praised Nadal via social media for his victory,one which has added more spice to what already has been one of the great eras of men’s tennis. However,Nadal said this was not a battle for supremacy,preferring to take a big-picture view of what the three men had done for the sport.
“I think we have always been respectful with each other. We understood the rivalry in a positive way through our careers and,yeah,I received plenty of messages,” Nadal said.
“I am sorry I have not been able to answer every one as you can imagine but,yeah,I really feel proud about the way we manage our rivalry through our careers. At the end of the day,it’s just a game,in some ways we achieved more than what we dreamed as kids.
“At the end,it doesn’t matter much if one is 21,the other is 20,or one finishes with 23 or 21,we did,I think,very important things for our sport,and we achieved our dreams,and we enjoy it. I feel lucky to be part of this era that has been very special for our sport.”