Nadal staged an extraordinary comeback in a match that won’t quickly be forgotten. While he needed a second chance to serve for the match late in the final set,the crowd erupted with joy after he clinched the win.
The 2022 Australian Open title will surely be remembered as one of the Spaniard’s greatest triumphs across his illustrious career. Both ahead of arriving in Melbourne and when he got here,Nadal expressed his concerns about his body and his fitness,having come back to the tour after a five-month lay-off due to a left foot complaint. A bout of COVID-19 after an exhibition event in the UAE last month adds to the fable.
Medvedev refused to give up despite the crowd willing Nadal home.Credit:Eddie Jim
Nadal was simply superb in refusing to throw in the towel against his opponent,10 years his junior,fighting back superbly and unexpectedly when he slipped behind two sets to love,especially after an energy-draining 84-minute second set that was worth the price of admission alone.
Falling behind after that set could have killed the Spaniard’s willpower,and that would have been the scenario for many a player.
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Instead,one of the game’s greatest fighters refused to give up. After games went on serve in the third set,the crucial break of serve went to Nadal in the ninth game and he stepped up immediately to hold to love and,at the very least,get at least one set on the scoreline.
But Nadal,with strong support from the crowd,was hardly done with. Medvedev,more than once,showed his frustration,especially over intermittent heckling or interference from spectators between first and second serves.
In one exchange with chair umpire John Blom,he implored the official to try and silence some fans.
“Can you take control,please? A small ‘please’ is not enough. Step up. It’s the final of a grand slam. With idiots,‘please’ doesn’t work,” Medvedev said from his seat during one change of ends.
Medvedev entered the Open as the unofficial top seed,and gritted his way through a tough seven-match program,not least a fight against both Nick Kyrgios and parts of the crowd in the second round.
More significantly,though,Medvedev saved a match point against rising Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarters. That match went for four hours and eight minutes. Four days later he was on court for another epic.
In between,Medvedev’s semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas was overshadowed by a verbal tirade towards the chair umpire,taking the gloss away a little from his impressive four-set win against his Greek foe.
Remarkably,Medvedev and Nadal have only played each other five times,and two of those matches are now memorable major finals. Nadal’s win on the Melbourne Park hard courts adds to the frustration for Medvedev,a victim of the Spaniard’s across five sets at the 2019 US Open.
That night,it was Nadal who advanced to a two-sets-to-love lead before Medvedev rallied,but the Spanish great was a five-set winner. History repeats in one sense.
Sunday night’s rematch came two years later,with Nadal,35,reaching the final in Melbourne after a limited preparation.
Rafael Nadal,one of the game’s greatest fighters,refused to give up on his way to a memorable victory.Credit:Getty Images
The tone and drama of the match was reflected by an extraordinary second set.
Ebbing and flowing after one hour and 24 minutes,it had more drama than some other individual matches these past two weeks at Melbourne Park.
Similar in importance to the third set of last year’s Roland Garros semi between Nadal and Djokovic,it lasted precisely twice as long as the opening set,won by Medvedev 6-2 after he eventually got on top of Nadal’s serve.
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In the second set,however,games were hard fought as Nadal,most noticeably,desperately tried to stay in the contest. It was inevitable and worthy that a tiebreaker was needed to break the deadlock.
Earlier,Nadal jumped to a 3-1 set lead with the first break. He did all the hard work,getting in front after a stunning 40-shot rally that culminated with a backhand winner.
Not long after,the ninth game proved pivotal. With breaks of serve more common than you would expect,Medvedev got one,needing five chances,however,to improve to a 5-4 lead. The set time was closing on the one-hour mark.
Early in the tiebreaker,it seemed Nadal,serving first,had the ascendancy and momentum.
He raced to the net more than once,forcing a Medvedev error to make it 4-3. A quick consolidation from Nadal meant the Spaniard was two points away from levelling the contest.
But Medvedev stepped up more than a touch,needing only one set point and nailing four points in a row to set up his two-sets-to-love lead.
At that point,it wasn’t quite Mission Impossible for Nadal,more Mission Improbable.
Yet improbable means exactly that – not out of the question.