Rafael Nadal mounts majestic comeback vs Daniil Medvedev to win Australian Open in epic | Tennis | Sport

Rafael Nadal won his 21st Grand Slam in scarcely believable fashion on Sunday, coming from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in an all-time great Australian Open final that lasted nearly five-and-a-half hours. US Open champion Medvedev seemed set to claim his second successive major and the world No 1 spot when he won the first two sets. But cheered on by a boisterous Aussie crowd, Nadal bravely battled back to win 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 in five hours and 24 minutes. It finally finished at 1.11am local time.

Nadal’s triumph means he becomes the first male tennis player ever to win 21 Grand Slams, with rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer left behind on 20.

He also becomes only the fourth man in history – along with Djokovic, Roy Emerson and Rod Laver – to win each Grand Slam at least twice. He first won here in 2009 and made Federer cry after losing the final.

The history man dropped his racquet and put his hands to his mouth in disbelief after the final point.

The incredible theatre was the second-longest Grand Slam final of all time after the 2012 final between Djokovic and Nadal which lasted five hours and 53 minutes and finished at 1.37am.

A crazy major which started with the deportation of the Serbian world No 1 Djokovic – and saw an on-court protest against the detention of refugees during the final – ended with Djokovic also falling behind in the GOAT race.

Nadal, who has won the French Open 13 times, will get the chance to increase his lead in Paris in the spring with doubts over whether Djokovic or Federer will be there.

Nadal surprised himself by even reaching a 29th Grand Slam final only months after fearing his career was overdue to his chronic foot injury but the 35-year-old outlasted a man a decade younger.

When he faced three break points in the sixth game of the third set, it had seemed the end was nigh but the fightback was only starting.

Medvedev’s bid to become the first man in the Open era to win his second Grand Slam title at the next Slam event after his first major title failed as he ran out of energy fighting the Spaniard, the crowd and Aussie umpire John Blum. As he tired, his tactical brain was frazzled and Nadal’s ferocious forehand won the match.

The crowd made clear their support as the players walked on court with Nadal receiving a rapturous reception and Medvedev getting booed.

But the atmosphere was quickly drained out of the first set after the first three games took 20 minutes. Nadal’s first service game went to deuce – and he needed to save two break points in his next. Then from 2-2, the Russian took control to win eight consecutive points on the Nadal serve to take the opening set in 42 minutes.

Nadal won only 25 per cent of points on his second serve.

In the first two sets, Mededev also deployed the Djokovic tactic of using his double-handed backhand down the line to pin Nadal and to stop him running round to unleash his forehand.

The Spanish superstar finally got break points on the Medvedev serve at 1-1 in the second – took the second by ending a 40-shot rally with an outrageous backhand slice winner.

He then sent down his first ace to lead 4-1 and served for the set at 5-3 in a mad game which saw the court invader enter the Rod Laver Arena – and be quickly dragged off by security – after Nadal had saved two break points.

Medvedev eventually took his fifth break point to bring the set back onto serve and a set featuring four breaks of serve went to a tiebreak. Thirty minutes after Nadal failed to take his set point, Medvedev took his first in the tiebreak with a backhand pass down the line and urged the crowd to give him more support. It did not work.

Nadal never stopped fighting and revved up the crowd himself when he fought back from 0-40 to hold at 3-3 after a 21-shot rally.

He got a massage on his left thigh during the changeover – and then broke back when a Nadal forehand sailed long.

As cheers of “Let’s go Rafa” echoed around the Rod Laver Arena, the Spaniard nailed three backhand winners in the next game and closed out the fourth set on the stroke of midnight.

Umpire Blom threatened to have hecklers thrown out after Medvedev’s first serve of the fifth set was cheered as it hit the net.

But the noise only increased when Nadal broke to lead 3-2 with another stunning forehand which hit the line.

Amid gripping tension followed by total bedlam in the Rod Laver Arena, the Spaniard first failed to serve out the match at 5-4. And after breaking the Medvedev serve for a seventh time, Nadal took his first match point with a backhand volley.

It is only the third time in his career that Nadal has come back from two sets down in a major – and the first time since the Wimbledon fourth round against Mikhail Youzhny in 2007.