“There were some emotional moments, I had to keep going” Rafael Nadal relives winning the 21st Grand Slam title
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Rafael Nadal
World No. 4 Rafael Nadal scripted history at Melbourne Park this year when he defeated Daniil Medvedev to win the 2022 Australian Open. The victory made Rafa the first man to win 21 majors in the singles discipline allowing him to overtake close rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who are now in a 2-way tie with 20 Grand Slams each.
It was Nadal’s 2nd Australian Open title having won his first-ever at the 2009 Australian Open. It was a wait of 13 years for the Spaniard who became the 4th man to win all 4 majors more than once. Nadal and Medvedev played out 5 hours and 24-minute thriller, the second-longest Grand Slam final, with Nadal coming from 2-sets down to win the next three sets in one of the greatest matches ever.
“After Australia, there have been some super happy moments, of course. There were some emotional moments too, to be back home and share it with the people that I love. But then the body goes down a little bit. Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. I was able to start practising relatively early again. So, I felt like I had to keep going. I am excited to just keep playing tennis.
“For me, it’s all about the things that I, personally, and also my people, my team and my family, did to help me get back on the court and give myself a chance to compete at a high level. For me, internally, it is more about this than the records and the stats. In the end, personal satisfaction is much higher and much more important than any record,” said Nadal speaking with the ATP Tennis Radio Podcast.
Rafael Nadal now 15-0 for the season
The Spaniard has made the best start to his season ever winning 15 matches on the trot. He started his season at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set 1 winning the title without dropping a set. He then went on to win the Australian Open to complete a successful trip Down Under. He next played at the 2022 Acapulco Open where he won the title to make it 3 from 3 this season and have a record of 15-0.
It was Nadal’s 4th title in Mexico and his 92nd career title. Having started the season ranked 5th in the world, the Spaniard has now raised to the 4th spot and if things go his way, he can rise in the rankings further as, after the Masters tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami, the Tour will focus solely on the Clay tournaments that has been Nadal’s most dominant surface.
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Sarthak Shitole
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