Rafael Nadal came back from two sets down on January 31st against the Russian, Daniil Medvedev, to win his 21st Grand Slam in Australia, which is the most Grand Slams won by a player.  

Nadal was coming off of a 5 month injury, because of Meuller-Weiss syndrome and stated that he had not prepared much for the tournament, and that he was not expecting much. He, then, went undefeated even with stomach issues in the quarter finals against Denis Shapovalov. When Nadal went down two sets in the final against Daniil, he said he felt completely destroyed in his body but he kept going to win what he calls his best ever comeback.

Many people think that this is undeserved, because Novak Djokovic, whose strongest court is the hardcourt, was unable to participate in the 2022 Australian Open (played on hardcourt), as he was against the vaccine. Djokovic is 20-7 against Nadal on the hardcourts and has only five grand slams out of his remarkable 21. Djokovic had also won 3 out of the last 4 Grand Slam Tournaments. And now with Nadal breaking the tie between them and the next tournament being on clay courts (Nadal’s win rate on clay is 78%), and both athletes being at the end of their careers, it seems that the Spanish 36 year old will end his career with the most Grand Slams in the history of the sport and the G.O.A.T. to many.

Djokovic got caught trying to fake his vaccination record, which caused him to be disqualified from the tournament. After this, many Serbians took to the streets of Melbourne to protest against the action, while Djokovic was stuck in an immigration hotel, and even his parents joined in. So instead of news outlets focusing on the tournament, they were focusing on Djokovic to many athletes’ dismay. 

In the end, Nadal’s win was massively overlooked as Djokovic’s vaccine ordeal was playing out in the public’s eyes. For the Spanish tennis star, it looks like it might be the final nail in the coffin for this rivalry, potentially vaulting him above his Serbian counterpart.