Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates with his trophy during the awarding ceremony after winning the men's singles final match. Xinhua

Rafael Nadal wins record 21st Grand Slam with comeback in Aussie Open final

By Adam Stites | Last updated 1/30/22

Rafael Nadal won a record 21st Grand Slam on Sunday with a dramatic, come-from-behind victory against Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final.

Nadal, 35, was down two sets against Medvedev, a 25-year-old rising star who ranks second in the world behind only Novak Djokovic. But Nadal fought off the Australian heat and rallied to win (2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5) in a grueling match that took five hours, 24 minutes.

Another chapter is written @RafaelNadal defeats Daniil Medvedev 2-6 6-7(5) 6-4 6-4 7-5 to win his second #AusOpen title in an epic lasting five hours and 24 minutes.
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: @wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis #AO2022 pic.twitter.com/OlMvhlGe6r
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 30, 2022

The win broke a three-way tie between Nadal, Djokovic and Roger Federer, who each had 20 Grand Slam titles. The record for men's singles Grand Slams once belonged to Pete Sampras, who ended his career with 14. But Federer took the record in 2009 with his 15th Grand Slam win and stretched the record to 20.

While Nadal has dominated at the French Open, winning 13 of the last 17 tournaments at Roland Garros, the victory over Medvedev was just the second Australian Open victory of his career and his first since 2009.

Nadal's rally to take control of the match Sunday appeared to be in jeopardy when he was serving up 5-4 in the final set and blew a 30-0 lead in what could've been the final game of the match.

After the win, Nadal said, "I just kept fighting. I can lose, he can win, but I can't give up," via tennis journalist Simon Cambers.

Nadal got back on serve by breaking Medvedev in the following game and made up for his error by winning on serve to secure a 7-5 win in the final set.

Djokovic has dominated the Australian Open with eight wins in the last 11 years, but he was deported from the country just before the tournament after a lengthy saga regarding his vaccination status.

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