On January 9, in the men's singles final of the ATP250 Melbourne, Nadal defeated American Claysey 7-6 (6), 6-3 to win his first comeback title, which was his 89th career Tour singles title and 23rd hard-court title.
Although this championship level is not high, affected by the ATP Cup in the same period, many high-ranking players have not participated, but this victory has undoubtedly injected a dose of strengthening into Nadal after his comeback. Maybe a great start to the 2022 season.
How tough the road back is
On June 12 last year, the back garden lost the French Open, losing to the final key Djokovic in the semi-finals, and Nadal seemed to be in a slump.
After the match, Nadal announced his retirement from Wimbledon and the Tokyo Olympics, and after two months of treatment, returned to the Washington Open in early August, lost to Harris in the third round, and then announced that he had ended the season early due to a foot injury.
In December, he announced his participation in the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Tournament, but lost two consecutive games, losing to Murray and Shapovalov respectively. Later, he announced that he was infected with the new crown, which was really a disaster.
For 19 consecutive years, it has won the championship record
In addition to bringing strong confidence, this victory also created the highest number of male players in the Open era, that is, 19 consecutive years of championship scoring. More than 18 years after Federer and Agassi, he topped the list alone.
Since winning the 2004 Red Clay Sopot Open, Nadal has won every year, with 11 titles in 2005 being the first, followed by 10 in 2013, and the least in 2016, 2020 and 2021. Although Nadal is often plagued by injuries and illnesses, and often "returns to the factory for overhaul", the "King of Clay" has the blessing of laterite, even in the trough, he can gain confidence from the clay race.
Federer still tops the list of active male players with 103 titles, followed by Nadal with 89 and Djokovic with 86.
The upcoming Australian Open will also be played at melbourne station, good luck to Nadal!