2022 Australian Open Men’s Final: Rafael Nadal vs. Daniil Medvedev

[tented]

Face it...it WAS all but over. And he's in the business of keeping people from turning off the TV.

It would help if he weren’t on TV.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Nobody knows how to go point by point better than Rafa.....noone.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Love this quote from Rafa,

"I can lose,he can win,but I can't give up".

 

[Kieran]

O @Kieran , come out to play.

I suppose I'm in shock, and chatting with other Rafa fans today, it's not an uncommon feeling. It was a sensational match, among the best I've ever seen, and typical of all great matches, it had "everything." I was stunned and anxious watching the first set - surprised that Rafa was so off the pace, so nervous, his serve was so lousy. Really lousy. A bully victim. He lost two successive service games without winning a point. At one stage I said to friends that every Rafa service game was like death by a thousand cuts. Medvedev seems always to reach deuce, at least. Rafa had no respite. He was the better player for the majority of set 2, but never where it mattered. Never on the big points. He broke serve twice and inevitably, he was broken back twice. He served at 5-3 in the tiebreak, but he brain cramped like he has against top players in tiebreaks since he won the FO in 2020.

Holding serve at 2-3 in the third in retrospect looks like the turning point - and it was - but he had so much hard work to do, and he'd been unreliable up to now. Surprisingly he served out the set to love, his first love game, and I thought, maybe this match is only starting, but even if Medvedev takes the fourth, no matter what, it's not the humiliation that was threatened after set 2. I was thankful for small mercies, but even in this moment, we tennis fans tend to be hopeful creatures, we're hungry and desperate, and we dream always upwards. Rafa was by far the more assertive player now, but could he win in five? Would he even get to five? He broke, then dropped serve, the usual pattern - but once again he served the set out to love.

These two love service games to win the third and fourth sets were only a type of what's to come, but they seemed little short of miraculous in the light of his serving in the first two sets. And we all know he has trouble serving out, at times. We all suffered that serving game at 5-4 in the second set of the 2006 Wimbledon final, where he was serving to level the match up after a lousy start.

In the fifth, I think we all dared to dream. We scarpered into the dreaming bushes and hollered and screamed and made crazy with ecstatic possibilities, while always cleverly nurturing a sensible hopelessness, like mothers milk, to protect us from disappointment. A comforting fatalism to accompany me a few games. Medvedev served first but Rafa breaking at 3-2, and waving blankets at the flames of so many break points to hold for 4-2 had to have had many of us feeling that we'd been here before. "Rafa up a break in the fifth? In Australia? Can we change the channel please, I've seen this one before?"

A terrible thing happened then, my Eurosport feed was chopping up like televisions do when there's an alien spacecraft overhead. So the picture was behind the score. So I was refreshing the page on the phone until the glass was worn thin and my thumb cramped up. I was doing this on the google scoreboard, even though I knew that official site app was faster. Because I'm superstitious and I began the tournament on the google scoreboard. So the score I was following was maybe a point behind real time, and the match I was watching was maybe a whole game behind. Frenzy. Rafa is up 5-3 and at 30-all I'm praying for a classic old school Novak-like double fault. But Med stood up and so now Rafa has to.

We all know what happened in game 10. It's happened before, but this time it fell on us like a lead balloon dropping down a bottomless well. Worse for me than thee, I suggest, because I'm refreshing pages and squinting at the phone to see if I see it right. 30-0 didn't become 40-0, it became 30-15. It became clammy hairs at the back of the neck standing on end. Vincent Price then entered the room and announced, with a hollow chuckle, "thirty all." I wondered if a jog might help. Or a cold shower. 30-all became what it always becomes, and I began to look at things from Medvedevs' side. The bastard (for that he had become) had been so true and earnest in the fifth, maybe he was about to sweetly avenge the US Open final in 2019? Jack Nicholson then entered the room and I knew we were all doomed. 5-5, and with the most shattering leer.

One very unusual and incredible thing happened after Rafa lost that game. Unusual because it completely went against the usual trends, but Rafa composed himself and actually fairly dominated the Daniil's next service game. You all saw this too, I don't even know why I'm describing it, but they traded the first 4 points, and then Rafa got three break points in a row, winning the last one. It was maybe his finest moment. He asserted himself despite his disappointment at failing to serve it out. He knew he'd been up a break in the fifth twice before and failed, and yet somehow from the depths of his genius, he found a way.

And then, like sets 3 and 4, he served it out to love, again. Remarkable and shocking. Unexpected. I haven't enjoyed a Rafa win so much in years. And look at that match point. It's Sampras-like in its authority. He enjoyed this tournament and didn't seem hung up on goat debates or numbers. He had the look of a man who was enjoying rediscovering the thrill of playing, the thrill of competing, and pulling himself - and his opponent - into the darkest corners of the room, to see who can handle it. He was credible when he said he wasn't thinking of 21, he was just enjoying doing what he loves. What a great man, and the most perfect example of a great champion and sportsman that kids could have...

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I suppose I'm in shock, and chatting with other Rafa fans today, it's not an uncommon feeling. It was a sensational match, among the best I've ever seen, and typical of all great matches, it had "everything." I was stunned and anxious watching the first set - surprised that Rafa was so off the pace, so nervous, his serve was so lousy. Really lousy. A bully victim. He lost two successive service games without winning a point. At one stage I said to friends that every Rafa service game was like death by a thousand cuts. Medvedev seems always to reach deuce, at least. Rafa had no respite. He was the better player for the majority of set 2, but never where it mattered. Never on the big points. He broke serve twice and inevitably, he was broken back twice. He served at 5-3 in the tiebreak, but he brain cramped like he has against top players in tiebreaks since he won the FO in 2020.

Holding serve at 2-3 in the third in retrospect looks like the turning point - and it was - but he had so much hard work to do, and he'd been unreliable up to now. Surprisingly he served out the set to love, his first love game, and I thought, maybe this match is only starting, but even if Medvedev takes the fourth, no matter what, it's not the humiliation that was threatened after set 2. I was thankful for small mercies, but even in this moment, we tennis fans tend to be hopeful creatures, we're hungry and desperate, and we dream always upwards. Rafa was by far the more assertive player now, but could he win in five? Would he even get to five? He broke, then dropped serve, the usual pattern - but once again he served the set out to love.

These two love service games to win the third and fourth sets were only a type of what's to come, but they seemed little short of miraculous in the light of his serving in the first two sets. And we all know he has trouble serving out, at times. We all suffered that serving game at 5-4 in the second set of the 2006 Wimbledon final, where he was serving to level the match up after a lousy start.

In the fifth, I think we all dared to dream. We scarpered into the dreaming bushes and hollered and screamed and made crazy with ecstatic possibilities, while always cleverly nurturing a sensible hopelessness, like mothers milk, to protect us from disappointment. A comforting fatalism to accompany me a few games. Medvedev served first but Rafa breaking at 3-2, and waving blankets at the flames of so many break points to hold for 4-2 had to have had many of us feeling that we'd been here before. "Rafa up a break in the fifth? In Australia? Can we change the channel please, I've seen this one before?"

A terrible thing happened then, my Eurosport feed was chopping up like televisions do when there's an alien spacecraft overhead. So the picture was behind the score. So I was refreshing the page on the phone until the glass was worn thin and my thumb cramped up. I was doing this on the google scoreboard, even though I knew that official site app was faster. Because I'm superstitious and I began the tournament on the google scoreboard. So the score I was following was maybe a point behind real time, and the match I was watching was maybe a whole game behind. Frenzy. Rafa is up 5-3 and at 30-all I'm praying for a classic old school Novak-like double fault. But Med stood up and so now Rafa has to.

We all know what happened in game 10. It's happened before, but this time it fell on us like a lead balloon dropping down a bottomless well. Worse for me than thee, I suggest, because I'm refreshing pages and squinting at the phone to see if I see it right. 30-0 didn't become 40-0, it became 30-15. It became clammy hairs at the back of the neck standing on end. Vincent Price then entered the room and announced, with a hollow chuckle, "thirty all." I wondered if a jog might help. Or a cold shower. 30-all became what it always becomes, and I began to look at things from Medvedevs' side. The bastard (for that he had become) had been so true and earnest in the fifth, maybe he was about to sweetly avenge the US Open final in 2019? Jack Nicholson then entered the room and I knew we were all doomed. 5-5, and with the most shattering leer.

One very unusual and incredible thing happened after Rafa lost that game. Unusual because it completely went against the usual trends, but Rafa composed himself and actually fairly dominated the Daniil's next service game. You all saw this too, I don't even know why I'm describing it, but they traded the first 4 points, and then Rafa got three break points in a row, winning the last one. It was maybe his finest moment. He asserted himself despite his disappointment at failing to serve it out. He knew he'd been up a break in the fifth twice before and failed, and yet somehow from the depths of his genius, he found a way.

And then, like sets 3 and 4, he served it out to love, again. Remarkable and shocking. Unexpected. I haven't enjoyed a Rafa win so much in years. And look at that match point. It's Sampras-like in its authority. He enjoyed this tournament and didn't seem hung up on goat debates or numbers. He had the look of a man who was enjoying rediscovering the thrill of playing, the thrill of competing, and pulling himself - and his opponent - into the darkest corners of the room, to see who can handle it. He was credible when he said he wasn't thinking of 21, he was just enjoying doing what he loves. What a great man, and the most perfect example of a great champion and sportsman that kids could have...

Finally....great post by the way...I have no words left for Rafa Nadal he left it all on the court and then some.Like you I am still in shock in a great way

 

[Kieran]

Finally....great post by the way...I have no words left for Rafa Nadal he left it all on the court and then some.Like you I am still in shock in a great way

I’m stunned. I’m knackered as well. Kudos to Medvedev but he has a bit to learn. He wondered what Novak would do, when down two sets to Felix - who looks like a fast coming thing. Really Daniil found today the hard way what Rafa can do, and has been doing for a lot longer than Novak…

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I’m stunned. I’m knackered as well. Kudos to Medvedev but he has a bit to learn. He wondered what Novak would do, when down two sets to Felix - who looks like a fast coming thing. Really Daniil found today the hard way what Rafa can do, and has been doing for a lot longer than Novak…

I thought it was going to be a straight sets win for Medvedev,agree Medvedev has a bit to learn,sometimes you have to learn the hard way,I felt Rafa handed him a lesson going forward.I am also 'stuffed' lol!

 

[Kieran]

I thought it was going to be a straight sets win for Medvedev,agree Medvedev has a bit to learn,sometimes you have to learn the hard way,I felt Rafa handed him a lesson going forward.I am also 'stuffed' lol!

It’s funny, my Sunday morning is usually to visit the new Italian cafe in Wicklow town, and now that we can sit inside its even better. Today I didn’t get there until five hours later than usual and the barista was like, where were you! We were worried, we were almost looking up your number from the covid track and trace forms.

And I’m like, you were worried? How the f*ck do you think I felt!

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Before I have another well deserved nap,

May I say you play every point with Rafa in his matches at times,I have never had the same feeling with any other player I have followed over the years.Yes it is exhausting at times....both physically and mentally.

 

[Kieran]

Before I have another well deserved nap,

May I say you play every point with Rafa in his matches at times,I have never had the same feeling with any other player I have followed over the years.Yes it is exhausting at times....both physically and mentally.

Rafa plays the points only once, but we play them many times, like a loud bell ringing in our heads, and we might face losing more points than he’ll ever win…

 

[Moxie]

Rafa plays the points only once, but we play them many times, like a loud bell ringing in our heads, and we might face losing more points than he’ll ever win…

It is exhausting to watch him sometimes, as a fan, so imagine what it's like to play him. This is where I was hoping against hope that it was advantage Nadal going into the 5th set. I quoted C. Clarey of the NYT a page or so back saying that you have to take a trophy from Rafa, point by point, game by game, set by set. He's not going to give it to you. And even though I thought Medvedev had looked so tough coming back from 2 sets to love down to Felix, and he was so fresh in the 5th that it scared me, it's not the same going against Rafa's intensity for 5.5 hours. That is what wore out the man who was 10 years younger, IMO.

 

[rafanoy1992]

There’s something about Nadal on HUGE moments in Slams and holding serve from love-40 down…

2009 AO Final: He was serving love-40, 5-5 all in the 3rd set, he held and won the 3rd set and later on the match

2012 AO Final: He was serving love-40 3-4 in the 4th set, he held and won the 4th set tiebreaker

2013 US Open Final: He was serving love-40 4-all in the 3rd set, he held, broke next service game, won the 3rd set and won the match

2022 AO Final: He was serving love-40 2-3 in the 3rd set, down two sets to love, he held, wins the 3rd and the 4th set, and finally win a dramatic 5th set, 7-5

I think he only had two aces two save those BPs. So, he literally had to be ultra aggressive and save those BPs…amazing mental resiliency!

 

[tented]

 

[tented]

 

[don_fabio]

I suppose I'm in shock, and chatting with other Rafa fans today, it's not an uncommon feeling. It was a sensational match, among the best I've ever seen, and typical of all great matches, it had "everything." I was stunned and anxious watching the first set - surprised that Rafa was so off the pace, so nervous, his serve was so lousy. Really lousy. A bully victim. He lost two successive service games without winning a point. At one stage I said to friends that every Rafa service game was like death by a thousand cuts. Medvedev seems always to reach deuce, at least. Rafa had no respite. He was the better player for the majority of set 2, but never where it mattered. Never on the big points. He broke serve twice and inevitably, he was broken back twice. He served at 5-3 in the tiebreak, but he brain cramped like he has against top players in tiebreaks since he won the FO in 2020.

Holding serve at 2-3 in the third in retrospect looks like the turning point - and it was - but he had so much hard work to do, and he'd been unreliable up to now. Surprisingly he served out the set to love, his first love game, and I thought, maybe this match is only starting, but even if Medvedev takes the fourth, no matter what, it's not the humiliation that was threatened after set 2. I was thankful for small mercies, but even in this moment, we tennis fans tend to be hopeful creatures, we're hungry and desperate, and we dream always upwards. Rafa was by far the more assertive player now, but could he win in five? Would he even get to five? He broke, then dropped serve, the usual pattern - but once again he served the set out to love.

These two love service games to win the third and fourth sets were only a type of what's to come, but they seemed little short of miraculous in the light of his serving in the first two sets. And we all know he has trouble serving out, at times. We all suffered that serving game at 5-4 in the second set of the 2006 Wimbledon final, where he was serving to level the match up after a lousy start.

In the fifth, I think we all dared to dream. We scarpered into the dreaming bushes and hollered and screamed and made crazy with ecstatic possibilities, while always cleverly nurturing a sensible hopelessness, like mothers milk, to protect us from disappointment. A comforting fatalism to accompany me a few games. Medvedev served first but Rafa breaking at 3-2, and waving blankets at the flames of so many break points to hold for 4-2 had to have had many of us feeling that we'd been here before. "Rafa up a break in the fifth? In Australia? Can we change the channel please, I've seen this one before?"

A terrible thing happened then, my Eurosport feed was chopping up like televisions do when there's an alien spacecraft overhead. So the picture was behind the score. So I was refreshing the page on the phone until the glass was worn thin and my thumb cramped up. I was doing this on the google scoreboard, even though I knew that official site app was faster. Because I'm superstitious and I began the tournament on the google scoreboard. So the score I was following was maybe a point behind real time, and the match I was watching was maybe a whole game behind. Frenzy. Rafa is up 5-3 and at 30-all I'm praying for a classic old school Novak-like double fault. But Med stood up and so now Rafa has to.

We all know what happened in game 10. It's happened before, but this time it fell on us like a lead balloon dropping down a bottomless well. Worse for me than thee, I suggest, because I'm refreshing pages and squinting at the phone to see if I see it right. 30-0 didn't become 40-0, it became 30-15. It became clammy hairs at the back of the neck standing on end. Vincent Price then entered the room and announced, with a hollow chuckle, "thirty all." I wondered if a jog might help. Or a cold shower. 30-all became what it always becomes, and I began to look at things from Medvedevs' side. The bastard (for that he had become) had been so true and earnest in the fifth, maybe he was about to sweetly avenge the US Open final in 2019? Jack Nicholson then entered the room and I knew we were all doomed. 5-5, and with the most shattering leer.

One very unusual and incredible thing happened after Rafa lost that game. Unusual because it completely went against the usual trends, but Rafa composed himself and actually fairly dominated the Daniil's next service game. You all saw this too, I don't even know why I'm describing it, but they traded the first 4 points, and then Rafa got three break points in a row, winning the last one. It was maybe his finest moment. He asserted himself despite his disappointment at failing to serve it out. He knew he'd been up a break in the fifth twice before and failed, and yet somehow from the depths of his genius, he found a way.

And then, like sets 3 and 4, he served it out to love, again. Remarkable and shocking. Unexpected. I haven't enjoyed a Rafa win so much in years. And look at that match point. It's Sampras-like in its authority. He enjoyed this tournament and didn't seem hung up on goat debates or numbers. He had the look of a man who was enjoying rediscovering the thrill of playing, the thrill of competing, and pulling himself - and his opponent - into the darkest corners of the room, to see who can handle it. He was credible when he said he wasn't thinking of 21, he was just enjoying doing what he loves. What a great man, and the most perfect example of a great champion and sportsman that kids could have...

Very romantic post Kieran.

Even though I lean strongly towards supporting Novak, first and before all I am a tennis fan. Yesterday it was a special day, we have witnessed something remarkable. One of the biggest comebacks in history of tennis, no doubt. This is why I always had so much respect for Rafa, his ability to just not give up and because this is sport and anything can happen and you just have to believe it's possible, unbelievable things do happen sooner or later.

Just the fact how many times in AO Rafa came close to winning it 2nd time, it is only right that he has achieved it finally and the way it happened it makes and unbelieavable story by itself. All Rafa fans should enjoy this victory as it was so well earned and nothing can be said against it. Haters will say Novak was not there and Rafa was lucky with the draw, but screw all that. The guy won against all odds and re-wrote the history books, period.

The match had everything that one tennis match could have. It was a fight until the very end. I agree with you 100 percent about how it was all about tennis at the end and that Rafa was not thinking about 21. I was just saying the same to my colleague here when Rafa was saving BPs in 5ht set up 3:2. If he did think about 21, he would have lost it. He was for sure hungry for a victory same as when he was 18, but not for the records, he was just enjoying on the court, embracing all the suffering and it paid off. No nerves at all with regards to 21, just pure tennis and all the thrills that comes with it.

Magnificent achievement. Hats off to Rafa. One can only admire to what we have witnessed yesterday.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

"If we put together,the scenario,momentum and what that means.Without a doubt,it's probably been the biggest comeback of my tennis career".
Rafa Nadal.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

Rafa Nadal is the 1st player to win the Australian Open title from a 2 sets deficit in the championship since 1965 when Roy Emerson defeated Fred Stolle 7-9 2-6 6-4 7-5 6-1.

 

[Moxie]

Rafa Nadal is the 1st player to win the Australian Open title from a 2 sets deficit in the championship since 1965 when Roy Emerson defeated Fred Stolle 7-9 2-6 6-4 7-5 6-1.

I thought I heard that stat, but wasn't sure. So, only one in the Open Era.

 

[MargaretMcAleer]

I thought I heard that stat, but wasn't sure. So, only one in the Open Era.

To my knowledge

 

[rafanoy1992]

Wimbledon is the only slam in the Open Era in which a Male player has not won a title from two sets to love down in the championship round.

Interestingly enough, the 2008 Wimbledon Final is the only final in which the player who lost the first two sets (Federer) forced a fifth set. All other finals either finished in three or four sets.