It really happened.
Even longtime Rafa Nadal fans might have taken a break for a few minutes in the middle of the night when it appeared that Nadal’s bid for a 21st Grand Slam title had become almost hopeless.
After all, Rafa had just blown 5-3 leads in the regulation second set and then a tiebreaker to fall behind Daniil Medvedev two sets to none, and then lost two of the first three games of the third set.
Things weren’t looking good for Rafa and his army of fans.
A DREAM BECOMES REALITY
It must have seemed like a dream for some fans when they returned to the TV as the fourth set started. Rafa had finally won a set. All hope wasn’t gone.
It was no dream, although it seemed unreal. Rafa was charging around the court like the Rafa of another decade. He was taking charge of the match in the fourth set. Unbelievable.
But Rafa buckled again while serving for the match in the 10th game of the fifth set as Medvedev evened the score at 5-5.
It must have felt like the 2012 final against Djokovic and the 2017 final against Federer all over again. Nadal was in charge of both of those matches to only lose the fifth set each time.
But he got another chance this time.
THE AMAZING RAFA ACCOMPLISHED THE ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE
The amazing Nadal made the third break point of the 11th game stand up to earn another chance to serve for the match in the 12th game.
Three points later, Rafa hit that wonderful flying backhand volley down the line for a winner at 40-love as Medvedev failed to put the ball into play.
Yes, Nadal had accomplished the virtually impossible, a 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Medvedev in Sunday night’s Australian Open singles final.
NOT JUST ANOTHER GRAND SLAM TITLE?
Of course. this wasn’t just another Grand Slam event, or just another Grand Slam in Nadal’s long history of titles. It was the 21st Grand Slam title of his career, elevating the Spanish great past the great Federer and Djokovic on the all-time list of Grand Slam titles.
It’s no longer 20-20-20. The race is now 21-20-20, with Rafa’s almost “very own” red-clay French Open coming up in about four months.
Plus, one more perk: a coveted second career Grand Slam. That one may mean more to Rafa than anything else, especially in view of all of his bad luck and injuries at Melbourne Park.
All of this for Rafa after undergoing foot surgery a few months ago and then coming down with Covid.
NADAL LOOKED BEATEN
Rafa looked beaten after two sets, unable to consistently hit his usually potent serves and unmatched twisting left-handed groundstrokes. His legs appeared to be worn out, matching his weak groundstrokes and serves.
Medvedev’s consistency, power and athletic ability was making Rafa look out of synch.
Oh well, Rafa gave it a fight, some of his fans must have reasoned.
In reality, Medvedev was awfully good on this night. He appeared to be fully prepared to win a second straight Grand Slam title. The 6-6 Russian was and is that great a talent.
A REDISCOVERY OF GREATNESS
Nadal simply suddenly rediscovered his mighty game. It should have been expected after seeing Rafa pull off so many miracles during his long career.
His game became one not of a 35-year-old, but one for the ages.
Nadal’s serve started ticking and his backhand down the line became nearly flawless. Toss in a regular meal of drop shots, and suddenly his opponent looked beatable.
Medvedev still had his fight to the end of the five hours and 24-minute match. And he was still smiling on the victory stand. Just another Grand Slam. After all, he’s just 25 years old and due to win his share of Grand Slams once the old-timers really become old-timers.
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James Beck was the 2003 winner of the USTA National Media Award as the tennis columnist for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier newspapers. A 1995 MBA graduate of The Citadel, he can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com.
