At 4:30 p.m. today, the finale of the 2022 Australian Open was re-staged in the men's singles final, with 20 Grand Slam champion Nadal playing against Medvedev, the first Grand Slam champion after 95. Pinnacle showdown, in the annals of history!
So far in the 2022 season, Nadal, who has returned to the field after recovering from left foot tarsal bone disease and new crown pneumonia infection, has returned for the sixth time in his career.
The sword blade came out of the grinding, and the plum blossom fragrance came from the bitter cold. Since turning professional in 2001, Nadal has been plagued and tormented by injuries and illnesses, falling down again and again, getting up again and again, and creating new glory. At the end of 2006, the bone disease of Nadal's left foot that had been afflicting Nadal since 2005 had flared up, and doctors almost sentenced Nadal to the end of his career. How can Nadal, who loves tennis, be willing? Finally, I got a way from the doctor to relieve the pain in my left foot by constantly changing the shape of the sneakers and prolonging my career. Nadal, who returned to the tournament in the 2007 season, defended the two consecutive Masters titles in Monte Carlo and Roma, and won the French Open for the third time. This is Nadal's first rendition of The Return of the King. Since then, in 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019, Nadal has returned from four injuries and created glory again.
On August 6 last year, Nadal made his first appearance in the Washington 500 tournament, but lost to South Africa's new generation cannon Harris, who met for the first time. Since then, Nadal has hung up the exemption card and finally announced the early end of the 2021 season, focusing on the treatment of rehabilitation of left foot appendage disease. In mid-December last year, with the aim of testing the effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation, Nadal participated in the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Tournament in the United Arab Emirates, but suffered two consecutive defeats. More unfortunately, returning to his hometown of Mallorca after the game, Nadal actually tested positive for the new crown pneumonia virus and had to stay at home for treatment, which cast a huge shadow on the upcoming 2022 season. It was his excellent physical fitness and extraordinary willpower that saved Nadal and was able to play in the first leg of the 2022 season, the Melbourne 250 Open, and make the final warm-up for the 2022 Australian Open. After three light wins, NadalHiti won his 89th career singles title, making a good start to the 2022 Australian Open. However, the opponent's strength in this station is weak, and the gold content of the championship is limited, which is not enough to show whether Nadal has adapted to the high-intensity rhythm of the game, and what is the state of competition? On January 17, the 2022 Australian Open was unveiled, and the low-key Nadal won consecutive victories, and after six victories, he has regained the stage of the 2022 Australian Open final after three years. Nadal's opponents include the famous Russian Thor Khachanov among the post-95s players, the Canadian genius Shapovalov and the Italian young coach Berrettini. Spanish god of war Nadal returned to the game after recovering from injury, returning for the sixth time as a king.
This afternoon's 2022 Australian Open final, the old ball king Nadal against the newcomer Wang Medvedev, is destined to rewrite history and will forever go down in history. If Nadal is old and strong, it will achieve a double-lap Grand Slam title, unlock the 21st Grand Slam title, create a new record for a men's tennis Grand Slam title, and seize the commanding heights of the first Grand Slam champion in history. If Medvedev strives to win the toad palace, it will win last year's US Open and this year's Australian Open two Grand Slam championships with the feat of consecutive victories over Xiaode and Nadal, surpassing Xiaode to become the new world number one, and also the first world number one for post-90s players, marking that the men's tennis world has finally changed dynasties after 18 years of rule by Federer, Nadal and Xiaode.
Such a peak decisive battle, the deer killed who hands, it is difficult to predict. But who wins and who loses, there is no loser.
Nadal, who has already won 20 Grand Slam titles, is about to turn 36 years old, with pure technical and tactical fire and combat experience. Former French Open tournament director Voguet believes that today's Nadal can be competent in a variety of ball paths, familiar with what kind of return ball should be played at different angles at different times. In the past, Nadal's game strategy was usually to defend and counterattack, destroying opponents with abundant physical strength and extraordinary willpower. Now Nadal plays in a kaleidoscopic way, and is good at making targeted adjustments and blows according to the characteristics of the opponent and the situation on the field, making it more difficult for the opponent to guard. Nadal no longer blindly runs all over the field, but mobilizes the opponent through left-right changes, a combination of length and shortness, making the opponent tired and difficult to adapt. And Nadal's ability to grasp key points is even stronger, as long as he is given a chance to determine the direction of the game, he will cling to it and finally lock in the victory.
Like Nadal, Medvedev has no shortcomings in his technical integrity, strong running ability, airtight defense covering the whole field, psychological maturity, tough personality, and "is one of the strongest warriors" (said Greek Shengshi Beauty Tsitsipas after losing to Medvedev in the fourth set of the 2022 Australian Open semifinals). American tennis legend Agassi praised him for his high ball quotient, knowing when to put pressure on opponents and when to make opponents collapse. He said his backhand played very smoothly, deep and low, with almost no turnovers, and the second shot was quite good, and there wasn't much I could do. Nadal said the way he plays in the game and his ability to change the rhythm of the game is amazing. Tsitsipas said that his serve is very strong, the left and right shots are flat and low, and he does not give the opponent any angle to attack, making it difficult for the opponent to adapt and uncomfortable. Germany's little giant Zverev jr. also felt the same way, thinking that the ball he played was very flat, so that the opponent basically could not do too much processing, because there was no room for maneuvering.
Such two opponents with excellent bottom lines, active running, extremely high defensive coverage, and tenacity and tenacity are often bitter battles between them. With the exception of the 2019 Rogers Cup Masters final in Canada, where Nadal easily repaired rookie Medvedev, who reached the Masters final for the first time, 6:0, the other three encounters, they had to fight until the decider to tell the winner. In the 2019 US Open final, Nadal won two sets first, and just when hundreds of millions of fans thought that Nadal would soon harvest the game, Medvedev suddenly burst out with amazing energy, pulling two sets in a row and dragging the game into the decider. Veteran king Nadal was forced to do everything in his power to win the decider 6:4 and win the US Open for the fourth time. In the group stage of the 2019 London Year-End Finals, Nadal lost seven sets first and fell behind 1:5 in the second set! Just when everyone thought that Nadal was going to lose to Medvedev for the first time, Nadal launched a Jedi counterattack, saving one match point and winning two consecutive sets, winning the opponent for the third consecutive time. In the semi-finals of the 2020 London Year-end Finals, Medvedev first lost one set and then rose up to resist, and even won two consecutive sets to reverse the victory, not only defeating the old ball king Nadal for the first time in his career, but also defeating the US Open champion and the first Grand Slam champion of the post-90s players in the finals, Tim, and lifting the year-end finals championship trophy, which is a achievement as powerful as Nadal's career has not yet been achieved!
This afternoon, two months after a year, Nadal and Medvedev met for the fifth time in their careers for the 2022 Australian Open men's singles final.
For this pinnacle showdown, Medvedev said: "Nadal is very strong and I will play again against one of the greatest players of all time, and the second time with a player who aims to win the 21st Grand Slam title (the first time was the 2021 US Open final against The Little German). The Grand Slam finals are quite special and I'm ready for the fight. I knew I had to be at my best to win the battle.
What does Nadal think of this pinnacle showdown? In an interview at the stadium after the four-set victory over Berrettini in the semi-finals on 28 January, Nadal said: At the 2009 Australian Open, I was lucky to win the title. But my career has been a bit unlucky because of injuries, especially at the Australian Open. In fact, in the 2012 and 2017 Australian Open, I played well in the final final and had a good chance of winning the championship, but I still unfortunately lost to Xiaode and Federer. In the 2014 Australian Open final, Nadal suffered a back injury and lost in four sets to Swiss champion Wawrinka, who had never lost before. In the 2019 Australian Open final, Xiaode was in a state of explosion, and Nadal had no chance, losing three sets in a row. Although he lost four Australian Open finals, Nadal said that because of the left foot tarsal bone disease and the new crown pneumonia virus, he never thought he would have the opportunity to compete for the Australian Open title in the 2022 season. It's really great to be able to play at the 2022 Australian Open and play so many games! I want to enjoy today's victory. After tomorrow, I will do my best to do my best to prepare as much as possible.
At 4:30 p.m. today, how should nadal, the runner-up of the four Australian Open, fight to unlock the 12-year Australian Open championship drought and smash the strange theory that the Australian Open and his own eight characters are incompatible?
Nadal must serve well and take control of his own serve, as he did in the fifth set of the 2022 Australian Open quarter-final against Shapovalov. Nadal also has to pick up Medvedev's serve, like the 2022 Australian Open semi-final against Berrettini, to minimize Medvedev's serve power and lay the foundation for a break. Nadal's shots had to be moved left and right, combining length and length, making it difficult for Medvedev to hit the ball comfortably while running, creating opportunities for counter-attack victory. Nadal should be good at changing the rhythm, dare to take the initiative to attack, reduce and avoid long-term bottom-line multi-shot tug-of-war, in order to save physical strength to cope with difficult battles. Nadal should also give full play to the advantages of solid basic skills before the net, intercept the Internet in a timely manner, and constantly put pressure on the opponent to amplify the opponent's only possible shortcomings one by one The ability to break the net is insufficient, which can not only smoothly get some simple scores, but also consume the opponent's energy and hit the opponent's confidence.
Nadal, you're a fighter, you're the God of War, and you've already played the return of the king for the sixth time. This afternoon, fight bravely, fight tenaciously, and create glory again! (Source: Tennis House Author: Colorful Bean Powder)