13 years and five final instances had to pass for Rafael Nadal to be crowned once again as the king of the first Grand Slam of the year.
At the age of 35, he battled for almost five and a half hours against the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number two in the ranking and a decade younger than the Spaniard, to win a title that undoubtedly places him among the greatest of all time in the sport.
This Major title is not one more, but it is his 21st, crowning himself as the top winner and delegating Nole and Roger to second place with 20 each. He also equals the mark of the current number 1 in the world in obtaining at least two championships in each Grand Slam.
Days of frustration and difficult moments
Rafael Nadal achieves this title, starting a chronic foot injury. The ailment that afflicts him is located in the scaphoid (located at the apex of the internal arch and an essential part of the skeleton of the foot) and is chronic.
In an interview he gave to the newspapers As from Spain and L’Equipe from France after winning in Australia, he said: “I thought that maybe it would be difficult to play again. Because I was working without seeing any positive evolution in my foot, with many days of frustration and difficult moments with the team.
Also, conversations with my family without seeing a viable way forward. But little by little things got better, the treatments had their effect a little bit. We already know that what I have has no solution, but at least I had to try to find something that would allow me to play.
And these three weeks have allowed me to do it, something that for me is incredible”.
Rafael Nadal added: “When you have the illusion of continuing and making an effort daily as I have done during all these months, you have the illusion of coming back and feeling like a player, professional and competitive. For me, obviously, winning the tournament has been incredible, but I think that seeing myself really competitive and once again a professional tennis player, being able to train and fight with the best makes that feeling just as beautiful as winning the title.”
Nadal and his clever tactics
For many fans, Rafael Nadal asserted his veteran status, resorting to intelligent tactics that allowed him to control the pace of the match and adjust it to his characteristics. Especially, during the beginning of it.
The Spanish tennis player is famous for using the maximum time allowed between serves to physically recover. Something that, for example, Denis Shapovalov blatantly blamed him in the quarterfinals, even calling the chair umpire “corrupt” for not sanctioning him.
For many, this is Nadal’s way of gaining extra time between points. In fact, even Australian Channel 9 commentator Sam Groth gave the theory some credence. “It’s a bit of a cheeky way to slow down after just a couple of points”.
Whether it is true or not that Rafael Nadal uses this technique to purify himself, what is certain is that the Spaniard will become a legend. Even Russia, the home country of his rival, in the end, recognized his greatness in an official statement issued by the presidential house.
“Medvedev is our star, but that’s why sport is a fantastic thing because there can only be one winner, and it has to be the strongest. So, we congratulate Rafael Nadal,” presidential spokesman Dmitri Peskov said at his daily news conference.
Sports Mentality From An Early Age
Nadal is known for his work ethic and for being a dedicated athlete. But this is not something that happened overnight.
From an early age, Rafael Nadal showed a sharp and ambitious sports mentality.
In the year 2000 Rafael Nadal won the Les Petis As, an international tournament that brings together young people between 12 and 14 years old in Tarbes, France.
In the interview after the tournament, a journalist asked him what he planned to do after the victory, and he answered, “Keep training. It’s important to win this tournament, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to be very good. We have to keep training.”
Nadal comes from a family of high-level athletes, two of his uncles were professional athletes. For this reason, it is not surprising that from an early age Nadal displayed a performance-oriented mentality.
The controversy over Djokovic
Before Nadal’s historic triumph, the Australian Open made headlines for the controversy over Djokovic.
Djokovic was expelled from the tournament and the country for refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The decision of the world No.1 was highly questioned, and he ended up cutting short his excellent streak in the tournament, in fact, he was a candidate to reach the final.
Many say that Djokovic’s exit is what allowed Nadal to achieve victory. The Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, current number 123 in the ATP ranking, uploaded a story to his Instagram account in which he pointed directly at Rafa. “Anyone can win a Grand Slam if Novak (Djokovic) doesn’t compete,” the Sarajevo-born wrote. And he added: “You are still the GOAT Djoker”.
Dzumhur publicly showed his support for Novak throughout the confrontation with the Australian government. At the time he said, “No one deserved to be treated like this and especially someone who represents all the players like Novak does! I support a great man on and off the court, ”he had posted, also in an Instagram story, after the deportation of the player.