On Jan. 29, tennis player Rafael Nadal distanced himself from contemporaries Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic by winning his 21st Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
Nadal came back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in an almost five-and-a-half-hour Australian Open final. In a rematch of the 2019 U.S. Open final that Nadal won in five sets, the 35-year-old Spaniard took down the 25-year-old Russian again in five sets after dropping the first two, 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, Yahoo! noted.
At five hours and 24 minutes, it was the second longest Australian Open final, ESPN noted. Novak Djokovic beat Nadal in five sets in five hours and 53 minutes in 2012.
Federer and Djokovic each has 20 titles. Djokovic (deported for being unvaccinated) and Federer (knee injury) did not play in this tournament.
Nadal's victory was even more remarkable considering he flew to Australia with just two matches under his belt in the second half of 2021 because he was sidelined with a chronic foot injury that can be treated but not cured. He also had a bout of COVID-19.