On Sunday, Jan. 30, Rafael Nadal beat Russian challenger Daniel Medvedev to win his 21st and record-setting Grand Slam at the 2022 Australian Open. 

Ever since Wimbledon of 2021, three men’s tennis players have been in a dead heat to prove who is the greatest of all time. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic all were tied at 20 grand slams each. On Sunday, with Nadal breaking the men’s singles record of 20 grand slam wins, he is currently the undisputed greatest men’s singles tennis player of all time. 

Despite this seeming like an easy step to victory since he’s won so many in the past, and his main competitor (Djokovic) being deported from Australia due to his vaccination status, Nadal’s victory was nothing short of a miracle. 

During the semi-final of the French Open in May of 2021, Nadal suffered a debilitating foot injury in his game against Djokovic and there were even rumors of him not playing at all this entire year. Just a couple of weeks before the Australian Open, Nadal tested positive for COVID which kept him out of training for even more time. 

Despite those circumstances, he was able to win the ATP 250 Melbourne Open tournament and go into the Australian Open with some confidence in his health. 

In an interview with CNN, Nadal said, “If we put everything together and analyze all the things that I went through the last five months, including the Covid [COVID] after Abu Dhabi, of course, I am happy.”

Nadal got through the first week of the Australian Open pretty easily, winning most of his matches in straight sets, but calamity struck after his Quarter-Final match with up-and-coming tennis star, Dennis Shapovalov. 

During this arduous five-setter match, with the weather reaching high temperatures on the hardcourts, Nadal suffered a heat stroke which caused him to lose 8.82 pounds over about three days. 

In his on-court interview, Nadal said, “I (am) completely destroyed after that.”

Persevering through such a major setback, Nadal was able to make it into the finals where he was to face Daniel Medvedev who had just won his first grand slam against Novak Djokovic in the 2021 US Open. Facing off against Medvedev in poor health, hot conditions, in addition to being well out of his prime, Nadal put on a spectacular five and a half hour match. 

If Nadal is known for anything, he is known for his comebacks. Down two sets to love at the beginning of the match, he scrapes whatever energy he has left and put on an incredible effort.  He won the next three sets in a row and achieved his 21st Grand Slam.

This major win in tennis history has had some effects on his long-time rivals, Federer and Djokovic. After seeing Nadal’s win, Federer issued an injury update and a plan for coming back to competition and Djokovic is considered getting vaccinated so that he can be allowed to participate in the French Open.

“Tactically nothing changed,” said Medvedev in an interview with ESPN, “but Rafa stepped up.”