In a historic comeback, number-six-ranked Rafael Nadal defeated number-two-ranked Damil Medvedev, winning the last three sets after going down two.

In the absence of reigning champion Novak Djokovic due to Australia’s hardline stance on vaccinations, this was seen as a potential opportunity for the competitors to lay claim.

Medvedev started very strong, winning the first set 6-2. The second set was a lot more difficult as Nadal started aggressively and was up 5-3 before Damil came back to win 7-6. Nadal continued to be aggressive and won the next 2 sets 6-4.

Even though they were extremely competitive, the momentum was clearly swinging in the direction of the joint all-time leader in grand slam wins.

The final set was one for the books as the competitive action continued with the set being tied 5-5 before Nadal took the set and the grand slam with a 7-5 victory.

This victory gave Rafael Nadal just the second Australian Open title in his career but most importantly, he becomes the man with the most number of Grand Slam titles in history, notching his 21st title to surpass both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer at 20.