On January 30, 2022, in the 2022 Australian Open men's singles final, 20-time Grand Slam champion Nadal lost two consecutive sets in 2:6 and 6:7, fell behind 2:3 in the third set, and faced the three break points of the new Russian Tsar Medvedev at 0:40 in the sixth set.
Nadal's 21st Grand Slam title was absolutely unexpected and seemed reasonable again.
Before the opening of the 2022 Australian Open, the media and gambling companies predicted that the 2022 Australian Open men's singles champion, Nadal only ranked fifth, not only far behind the world's first small German, the world's second Medvedev, and even behind the post-95 players Zverev Jr. and Tsitsipas. Until the men's singles final, the percentage predicted that Medvedev would win the championship was still much higher than Nadal.'s. In particular, when Nadal lost the first two sets, fell behind 2:3 in the third set, and faced three break points at 0:40 in the sixth set, the probability of Nadal winning the championship immediately slipped directly to only 4%! At that time, even the hardcore bean powder was mostly full of despair and could not bear to watch the live broadcast of the game. However, Nadal finally staged a Jedi counterattack, winning three consecutive sets in one fell swoop, which was absolutely unexpected by the media, gambling companies and hundreds of millions of fans!
As one of the parties, Nadal is also surprised that he can achieve 21 Grand Slam titles at the 2022 Australian Open!
Since leaving the game on August 6 last year, Nadal is determined to fight the final battle against the tarsal bone disease that plagued him at the beginning of his career, when pain tormented Nadal but did not have the best way to perform surgery. The boundless darkness has enveloped Nadal's career, and Nadal has even become pessimistic enough to have to discuss the issue of forced retirement with his family and team. After finding a compromise surgical plan and performing surgical treatment, it was a long rehabilitation phase, and there was great anticipation and concern for the postoperative effect. In mid-December last year, Nadal traveled to Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, as promised, to participate in an exhibition match, hoping to use the race to test the surgical effect and physical recovery of the left foot appendage disease. The situation was not ideal, nadal, who had won the exhibition match repeatedly, lost both battles this time, and it was British star Sir Murray who repeatedly struggled in the first two rounds of the tour after returning from injury, and The canadian talented teenager Shapovalov, who was outside the world's top ten. This undoubtedly casts a shadow over Nadal's 2022 season. What is even more frustrating is that Nadal, who returned to his hometown of Mallorca Island, actually tested positive for the new crown pneumonia virus, suffered from illness again, and was forced to isolate at home for treatment. It is really a leak in the house that rains overnight, and the blessings are unmatched to the point of misfortune. It was Nadal's strong physique and extraordinary willpower that completed Nadal and was able to travel to Australia to warm up for the 2022 Australian Open. At that time, Nadal only wanted to be able to participate in the 2022 Australian Open smoothly, as for the results, where dare to hope?
Even when he unexpectedly won three consecutive games in the Melbourne 250 Open, although Nadal was overjoyed and could not suppress his excitement, he still played a low-key role for the 2022 Australian Open. This can be heard from Nadal's live interviews after the first two rounds of the 2022 Australian Open: there is no better place to be able to return to the Rod Laver Centre and win than to be back in the Centre. But there are still doubts about his physical condition, and there are still some uncertainties that need to be tested by one game at a time. At that time, nadal would have thought about winning the 2022 Australian Open and being able to play in the second week of the 2022 Australian Open would be satisfied.
Fans know that Nadal has played the return of the king after his return from injury five times in his career. In the 2007, 2010, 2013, 2017 and 2019 seasons, Nadal played the return of the king five times, regaining the Masters and Grand Slam titles. However, Nadal, who returned from the king five times, was not able to regain the title at the Australian Open, recreating the exciting scene of the 2009 Australian Open. The Australian Open seems to be a bit out of line with Nadal's eight characters, and Rod Laver Centre Does not seem to be Nadal's blessed land. Because Nadal had previously reached the Australian Open final five times, only defeated Federer in five sets in 2009 to win the only Australian Open title, but in 2012, he lost to Xiaode in 5 hours and 53 minutes, lost to Wawrinka in four sets after a back injury in 2014, lost to Federer in five sets in 2017 to pay off old debts, and lost to Xiaode in three sets in 2019. With Nadal's strength at that time, he could not realize the dream of the Australian Open again and achieve the great cause of double grand slam, and Nadal in the 2022 season was just recovering from injury and recovering from a serious illness, ren is a fan who loves Nadal, how dare he imagine that Nadal can toad the 2022 Australian Open?
The 2022 Australian Open is the big favorite to win the championship, and Little De, Medvedev, and Zverev Jr. are also. After Xiaode returned to China because of the visa matter, the highest call for winning the 2022 Australian Open was Medvedev and Zverev Jr. Medvedev reached the Grand Slam final three times, and finally successfully blocked the annual Grand Slam of Xiaode in the 2021 US Open, becoming the first Grand Slam champion of the post-95 players. At the Australian Open last year, Medvedev lost to Xiaode in three sets and ranked second. Now that the little German can not reproduce the Australian Open, Medvedev has certainly become a temporary choice, and it is a big favorite to win the championship. Zverev Jr. defeated Xiaode in the semi-finals and the semi-finals of the Year-end Finals at the Tokyo Olympic Games last year, winning a very heavy Olympic gold medal and a year-end finals championship, second only to Medvedev. With the opening of the 2022 Australian Open approaching, Zverev Jr. cheered up the post-95 players, aiming to win the Australian Open and reach the top of the world. Not only that, Medvedev and Zverev Jr. have classic examples of defeating Nadal on the hard court, and Zverev Jr. even defeated the King of Clay in Nadal's clay back garden. The two of them against Nadal, not only are they no longer at a disadvantage, but they have even gained the upper hand, because the technical and tactical skills and tactics of the two of them are becoming more mature, the quality of will is more tenacious, the physical strength is more abundant, and the strength is more powerful! With two young and strong, menacing new generations, returning from injury and recovering from serious illness, old and physically deficient old nadal, how can they resist? Therefore, Nadal's road to winning the 2022 Australian Open is a thorny step by step, how difficult!
Before the final final showdown of the 2022 Australian Open was staged, fans and the media believed that even Nadal's uncle Tony thought so, that if Nadal wanted to defeat Medvedev, he must take the initiative to attack, and could not engage in a war of attrition with him on the bottom line. It is also necessary to strengthen the mobilization of left and right, the combination of long and short, and more use of online interception tactics to obtain simple scores and hit the confidence of the other side. Only then will Nadal be able to fight for a quick decision and avoid a five-set battle with Medvedev that has no chance of winning. Because of the third round of the 2022 Australian Open and the quarter-finals and semi-finals, Nadal's physical fitness sounded the alarm in the third set, losing to the Russian Thor Khachanov, the Canadian genius Shapovalov and the Italian young coach Beretini in one set, and then lost the fourth set against Shapovalov. If you play against Medvedev, who is more physical, more active in running, and more defensive, how to play in Nadal's third and fourth sets is terrible to think about!
However, to the surprise of the fans, Nadal, the 20-seat Grand Slam champion who has been absent from the battle and returned from injury, is faced with the opportunity to create history, and like the rookie who debuted on the stage of the Grand Slam final, he will also be nervous to affect the state of play, with no rhythm at all, and frequent mistakes in the forehand and backhand attacks. After Nadal handed over the first set 2:6 hastily, the second set put down the burden of thought and gradually entered the state, but unfortunately still lost three simple balls (one in front of the net, one in front of the net to push the back field out of bounds, one double reverse off the net), resulting in seven defeats and another loss. In this way, Nadal's original plan of active attack and quick battle strategy and tactics was completely frustrated, and he had to fight with Medvedev in five sets. This was completely unexpected by fans and the media. What is even more unexpected by fans and the media is that the old ball king Nadal is ashamed and brave, and he is more and more frustrated, and he even spares no physical strength to fight a war of attrition with the new generation of Medvedev. By the end of the decisive round battle, Nadal's fuel tank seemed to have a lot of oil available, but Medvedev, who was nearly 10 years younger, seemed exhausted and unsustainable. That's why, after the game, when Medvedev walked up to the net and shook hands with Nadal, who set a record of 21 Grand Slam titles, he couldn't help but ask the winner: Are you tired?
At the 2022 Australian Open, Nadal achieved double-lap Grand Slam feats, setting a new record for 21 Grand Slam titles in men's tennis. The process and the final result are indeed full of too many difficult twists and turns, which is absolutely unexpected!
However, who can say that Nadal's victory at the 2022 Australian Open is not necessarily inevitable? Everything is the best arrangement, and it seems reasonable again.
This is God's best reward for Nadal, the Spanish god of war! Because Nadal loves tennis and perseveres, he has been fighting against injuries for a long time in his career, tenacious and unyielding, and fighting to the end! Because Nadal has extraordinary willpower and strong physical reserves, as long as he plays, he will not give up lightly, and he will fight until the last moment! Because Nadal won the 2009 Australian Open and won the final four times, but Nadal did not give up, firmly denying that he and the Australian Open were incompatible, nor did he agree that the Australian Open was not his own blessed land! Because Nadal unexpectedly lost to Xiao De in the semi-finals of his beloved Clay Garden French Open last year, he lost a great opportunity to set a record for a grand slam title in men's tennis! Lost mulberry elm, harvested east corner, as long as you persist, there will be a return! (Source: Tennis House Author: Colorful Bean Powder)