Spaniard has overcome many setbacks to reach Australian Open final where Daniil Medvedev stands in the way of historyTwo long, dramatic weeks ago, just before the Australian Open was due to begin, Rafael Nadal sat down to set the scene for the fortnight ahead. The shadow of Novak Djokovic’s deportation saga looming large over the tournament, Nadal forcefully answered questions onabout his rival. He discussed his recent injuries and his health. He stressed the necessity of taking his return step by step.At no point was he asked about, or did he mention, the prospect of winning his 21st grand slam title. It was always clear that by virtue of entering the draw, this is what he was competing for, but...
The 35-year-old has surprised Australian Open watchers even more than himself as he has fought for his shot at a 21st slamRafael Nadal lays down his towel, spreads it across two parallel courtside advertising boards. He gently tugs at the near corners to ensure it is taut. Then looks at it again, pulls the far right-hand corner just a little. He squinches his face and surveys the symmetry, pats it with his hand. Content, he turns on his heels towards the baseline, ready for his serving ritual.In the quarter-finals against Denis Shapovalov, Nadal completed his shirt-tug, hair-tuck, face-wipe routine 146 times. He won 100 of those points on his first serve over the course of five sets, in four hours...
The Swiss posted a long statement on social media welcoming his great rival to the 20-title club shortly after the finalIn his astonishing straight-sets bludgeoning of Novak Djokovic on Sunday, Rafael Nadal unlocked many surreal achievements. He now owns 13 Roland Garros titles, 15 years after his first outing.Nadal is the first man in history to win six grand slam titles over the age of 30, a level of longevity that must taste so sweet after years of hearing his game was too physical to last. His 100-2 win-loss record at the event simply does not make any sense. Still, the subject was about Nadal joining Roger Federer on 20 major titles. Related: Rafael Nadal demolishes Novak Djokovic to win...
Nadal and Djokovic have plausible claims to be the greatest of the past 50 years but their serene, ruthless rival aces it for meFew rivalries in sport divide fans with quite the fervour and wilful lack of understanding for an opposing point of view as does that involving Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.When those whose recall reaches back beyond the start of the millennium to weigh up the merits of Pete Sampras and Björn Borg as the other contenders in a magnificent top five, the battalions of young social media hawks smile upon them as quaintly romantic, with their love of wooden rackets, tight shorts and bad mullets. As great as those two players were, with 25 majors...
Lockdown has revealed a lot about athletes but tennis’ king of clay will want to catapult us back in time come SeptemberOne of the most refreshing aspects of sporting lockdown, in the absence of watching athletes do things, has been watching athletes talking. Properly talking, I mean. Most of the time, what normally passes for athletes talking is actually just athletes making noises: contrived and arbitrated noises, synthetic to the point of worthlessness. Here, sweaty athlete at your most distracted and dishevelled: please summarise your many as-yet unprocessed emotions in a pithy, uncontroversial 30-second soundbite to a live audience of millions in front of a bit of sponsored cardboard, before you’ve even had a chance to see your loved ones....