“I’ve never seen that, It is something superhuman!” Zeljko Franulovic amazed by Rafael Nadal epic comeback at the Australian Open 2022
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Rafael Nadal
In one of the greatest finals in the Open Era, Rafael Nadal made an incredible comeback to prevail over Daniil Medvedev in five sets and clinch his second Australian Open title and a record 21st Grand Slam.
The Spaniard lost the first two sets and was trailing Medvedev 3-2 (0-40) in the third set. At this moment, it looked Nadal was heading for another runner-up finish at the Australian Open. He lost in the finals at the Melbourne Major 4 times and his last win was more than a decade ago. But the Mallorcan made a stunning comeback to defeat Medvedev in a grueling 5 hours and 24 minutes. With this win, Nadal broke the three-way tie he held with Federer and Djokovic in terms of Grand Slams and is ahead of the pack with 21 Majors.
Monte-Carlo tournament director, Zeljko Franulovic heaped praise on Nadal for displaying extraordinary mental strength and said that his incredible heroics are worthy of a movie itself and exclaimed it was ‘superhuman’.
“I followed (he 2022 Australian Open final). What Rafael Nadal did in Australia, to me, is worthy of a Netflix movie. I’ve never seen that. It is something superhuman. Nadal has extraordinary mental strength,” he said in an interview with French daily newspaper Var-Matin.
Franulovic also praised Daniil Medvedev, because such an incredible match was only possible with a player like Medvedev on the opposite side of the court.
“We must not forget Daniil who had an equally incredible match. It takes two for [a match like that].”
Franulovic confirms Rafael Nadal’s participation at the Monte-Carlo Masters
Franulovic said he was confident about the Spaniard’s participation at the Monte-Carlo Masters and claimed he is one of the favorites to win the title, as it is ‘one of his favorite tournaments.’
“For me, there is no need to even announce. He will be there, it is one of his favorite tournaments and ideal in his preparation for Roland Garros. He will come here to win, as always, with his 11 titles.”
Nadal has won a staggering 11 titles in Monte-Carlo, which includes a remarkable eight consecutive titles from 2005 to 2012. The ‘King Of Clay’ lost only 6 times at the tournament, since his debut as a 16-year-old in 2003. In 2021, he was stunned by Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals but will be the favorite to win the title this time around given his stellar start to the season.
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