Sohu Sports News On the evening of January 30th, Beijing time, in the men’s singles final of the 2022 Tennis Grand Slam Australian Open, Nadal fought hard in five sets and defeated Medvedev 3-2 to win his second Australian Open championship. Winning the cup this time is of great significance. Nadal has created a number of personal career records, becoming the fourth male player in history to achieve a double-lap Grand Slam, winning 21 Grand Slam titles and occupying the first place in history.
From frequent injuries to the final cup
In 2021, Nadal was plagued by injuries and fell into a long truce following stopping in the semi-finals at the French Open. In August, he made a short comeback for the North American season and was injured once more in two games. Nadal missed Wimbledon, the Olympics and the United States this season. Nets did not come back until the Abu Dhabi exhibition match at the end of the season, but they suffered a two-game losing streak following coming back.
The purpose of Nadal’s battle at the 2022 Australian Open is very simple. It is to find the state through the Grand Slam. The goal is to hit the French Open once more during the season. , In this Grand Slam, which has been repeatedly defeated in finals, Nadal did not report much hope. However, as the game progressed, Nadal’s state became better and better, and Shapovalov won the five-set battle in the quarter-finals.
Nadal’s Australian Open final opponent is No. 2 seed Medvedev. Although he has the temptation of 21 crowns, the opponent on the opposite side is very strong. The 2021 US Open Djokovic hit 21 crowns and was swept by this opponent 3-0. The beginning of the final was also as expected before the game. Medvedev took the lead all the way and easily won the first two sets with the advantage of serving and multiple shots. Nadal seems to repeat the scene of the US Open Djokovic being swept. However, following that, the fighting spirit of the Spanish king was inspired. At the end of the third set, he broke serve and pulled back a set, and then had the last laugh in the fourth set. Influence, the impact at the last moment made the opponent collapse, won a five-set battle, and won the Australian Open championship without a doubt.
After 13 years, the Australian Open’s second crown achieves a double-lap Grand Slam
Nadal’s Australian Open campaign was not smooth. He lost 9 quarter-finals in the previous Grand Slam career, 7 times in the Australian Open, and 8 times in the Grand Slam finals generally appeared in the Australian Open finals. In 2009, Nadal After reaching the final for the first time, he defeated Federer in a five-set battle and successfully won the cup, but then he fell into a 13-year wait. He lost to Djokovic in the 2012 final, Wawrinka in the 2014 final, and Federer in the 2017 final. In the 2019 final, he lost to Djokovic once more. It was not until 2022 that Nadal defeated Medvedev to win the cup and won the second men’s singles championship of his career at the Australian Open.
In the history of men’s tennis, three players have previously achieved the feat of a double-lap Grand Slam, that is, they have won more than two championships in each of the four major championships. The first two are Emerson and Rhodes. Laver, but if you only count the years of the Open, only Djokovic had done it before, and he achieved this feat following winning the French Open in 2021. Nadal has been attacking this honor for many years. After winning the second championship at the US Open in 2013, Nadal has won at least two championships in the three Grand Slams, but only the Australian Open has only one championship. The three finals of 2014, 2017 and 2019 failed to get his wish. After winning the Australian Open this year, Nadal finally achieved the feat of “double-lap grand slam”.
The 21st Grand Slam title is the first in history
Grand Slams occupy the most important position in tennis. The number of Grand Slam championships has become the final indicator to measure a player’s historical status. The competition for the first place in history is especially fierce in men’s tennis. In 1981, Borg won the 11th championship to tie Rod Laver’s score, and then the American star Sampras was born. He won a total of 14 Grand Slam championships in his career. An unbreakable record, but then came the Big Three in men’s tennis.
Nadal’s Grand Slam championship journey started at the French Open. He won four consecutive championships from 2005 to 2008. After being upset in the fourth round in 2009, Nadal ushered in a wave of five consecutive championships at the French Open. Win more championships. But Nadal is not the first player to surpass Sampras. Federer won his 14th crown at the French Open in 2009, and then officially surpassed Wimbledon in the same year, and has occupied the first place in history for many consecutive years. Nadal won the 15th personal crown in 2017 and rose to second in history, but he always trailed Federer. Since then, Nadal has continued to narrow the gap between the two. After winning the 20th crown at the French Open in 2020, he chased following him for the first time in his career. Flat Federer. With the Australian Open this year, Nadal has won 21 Grand Slam titles, surpassing Federer for the first time and officially taking the first place in history.Return to Sohu, see more
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