"Turning point in tennis history" - Corretja on Nadal's comeback in Australian Open final
ATP
Novak Djokovic won three Grand Slam titles in 2021, tying Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer for the most Grand Slam titles at 20. In 2022, the Spaniard made tennis history.
It all began with Rafael Nadal's surprising victory at the 2022 Australian Open, where no one anticipated him to win his 21st Grand Slam title.
Later, at the 2022 Roland Garros, he added his 22nd title, going two titles away from his two main opponents. When Djokovic was winning Grand Slams one after another last year, no one could have predicted this scenario.
Djokovic would have been the biggest favorite to win the 2022 Australian Open if he took part in the tournament. However, he couldn't do that, as he was deported from the country, and so one of his main rivals got his chance.
Despite being the only player from the Big Three to take part in the 2022 Australian Open, Nadal wasn't one of the biggest favorites to win the title.
However, after his victories over Marcos Giron, Yannick Hanfman, Karen Khachanov, and Adrian Mannarino, it seemed that his confidence was building.
Then, he managed to win a difficult five-set match against Denis Shapovalov and defeat Matteo Berrettini in the semi-finals. Despite all of this, no one expected Nadal to beat Daniil Medvedev in the final.
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Moreover, no one expected him to win when he was 2-6, 6-7, 2-3 and 0-40 down. Yet, he managed to come back and win his 21st Grand Slam title in what could be marked as one of the best comebacks in the history of major finals.
In a recent tweet, Alex Corretja marked this as a "Turning point of 2022, and who knows, maybe in tennis history."
Despite Nadal's incredible efforts this season, Djokovic can still match him at 22 Grand Slam titles this season and win even more in the coming seasons.
But that's the future, and the present says that the Spaniard sits comfortably in front of Djokovic and Federer, who are 2 Grand Slam titles behind him.
