Rafa Nadal wins historic 21st Grand Slam title - five amazing facts

The Spaniard became the first man to claim 21 Slam singles titles at the Australian Open, one more than Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.

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Rafa Nadal reacts after winning his 21st Grand Slam singles title at the 2022 Australian Open

(2022 Getty Images)

Rafa Nadal is the 2022 Australian Open champion after an epic five-set victory in Melbourne on Sunday (30 January).

Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5, to win a historic 21st Grand Slam title to go one clear of both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the all-time list.

It's Nadal's first Australian Open win since 2009, fighting back from two sets down in a rousing and pulsating comeback as the 35-year-old overcame the Russian 10 years his junior.

Nadal said in his on-court interview, "It's unbelievable. A month ago. I didn't know if I would be back on tour and playing tennis again, you don't know how much I fought to be here.

"It's probably one of the most emotional moments in my tennis career, and the huge support I received over these three weeks will stay in my heart for the rest of my life."

Just 24 hours after Ash Barty had made history, tennis fans were treated to another spectacular final with the crowd overwhelmingly behind the Spanish hero.

Medvedev was two sets and had three break points to go 4-2 up in the third, but somehow Nadal found a way back.

It was a masterpiece of never giving up from Nadal with reigning US Open champion Medvedev looking on in disbelief as his veteran opponent grew into the match.

Nadal just seemed to get stronger and stronger, believing in his backhand and eliminating the earlier errors.

"I was amazed," Medvedev said afterwards, "after the match I asked him, aren't you tired?"

Here are five more amazing things about Rafa Nadal you might not know.

1. Rafa Nadal's rituals

Rafa's on-court rituals are the stuff of legend, they put him in a frame of mind and prepare a process for him to follow - there are many, and have a precision to them that match the winners he hits on the court.

He always walks on the court with a single racket in his hands for example, never steps on a white line if he can avoid it, and always crosses them with his right foot.

Here are three more of our favourites:

1. Pre-match cold shower

"Freezing cold water. I do this before every match," he says in his 2011 autobiography.

"It’s the point before the point of no return. Under the cold shower I enter a new space in which I feel my power and resilience grow.

"I’m a different man when I emerge. I’m activated. I’m in “the flow”, as sports psychologists describe a state of alert concentration in which the body moves by pure instinct, like a fish in a current. Nothing else exists but the battle ahead."

2. Sips recovery drink, sips water, always in that order

Afterwards he puts them exactly where they were before he picked them up.

“I put the two bottles down at my feet, in front of my chair to my left, one neatly behind the other, diagonally aimed at the court," he explains.

"Some call it superstition, but it’s not. If it were superstition, why would I keep doing the same thing over and over whether I win or lose? It’s a way of placing myself in a match, ordering my surroundings to match the order I seek in my head.”

3. Shirt, shorts, nose, ear, nose, other ear

Rafa's pre-serve adjustments are as part of his game as that fearsome left-sided forehand. Again, all part of the process for the 21-time Grand Slam winner.

2. When Rafa beat his hero Ronaldo

Football is one of Rafa's great passions.

He grew up watching 'O Fenomeno' Ronaldo (the Brazilian version) at Barcelona, a team that his uncle Miguel Angel Nadal had once played for.

“I’m a huge fan of Ronaldo, I’ve followed his career since his time at Barcelona," Nadal said.

"I once asked my uncle Miguel Angel if I could get a photo with him. So I even got to go in the dressing room and have a photo taken with one of my biggest idols. There’s no doubt that overcoming adversity, making it back to the very top of the game and winning trophies deserves huge credit.”

Nadal got the chance to take on his childhood idol at a charity poker game and, far from letting his hero win, Nadal refused to fall for the Brazilian's bluffs and won the match.

Ever the competitor.

And that wasn't the only time they played. Apparently they had faced off over the card game a few months previously, and Nadal had one that one too.

“Ronaldo is a football great and it’s amazing for me to have the opportunity to face him at the poker table. I’m happy for a rematch if Ronaldo is up to the challenge,” Nadal said.

Funnily enough, the ex-footballer hasn't taken him up on the offer.

(Bongarts)

3. Nadal can't live without his phone... or painkillers

A little like the rest of us in the smartphone age, Nadal cannot live without his phone.

He told GQ the 10 things he couldn't do without and the phone topped the list.

The others were his laptop, his passport, tennis bag, sports and casual outfits, and his earbuds, where he listens to everything from classical music to reggaeton.

Oh, and painkillers. After the Australian Open final that went over five hours, it isn't hard to see why.

4. Rafa Nadal is right-handed!

He's made a career out of that weapon of a left hand, but Rafa Nadal does everything else with his right hand.

How did that happen?

The story goes that his coach as a child - the famous Uncle Toni - noticed that left-handed players had an advantage, so Rafa played with his weaker hand.

He was not a fan at the beginning, but he came around to the idea when the results started coming in.

Now, 21 Grand Slams singles titles later, it's funny to think of the 'King of Clay's' left as his 'weaker hand.'

5. Rafa Nadal and his wife: Why children can wait

Nadal is the type to keep his private life private, but every now and then he opens up on life with his wife Xisca Perello, and why they are yet to have children.

Kids can wait, says Rafa. After all, they were going out for 14 years before tying the knot in January 2019.

Perello stays out of the limelight, and doesn't have any social media.

_“_No … I don’t have any public accounts,” she told The Telegraph. “I’ve always been very clear that I’m not the famous one.

“I prefer not to say much,” she continued. “It’s what works for me, and what works for Rafael and me as a couple.”

And kids?

“I would love to have children: boys, girls," Rafa told the Sun. "I’m a person who loves kids and I’m a family guy,” he revealed.

“But also I tell you that the reality is, the years keep passing, I would like to start to do all of this when my sporting life determines it.”

With Nadal saying in his victory speech he would like to return to Melbourne next year, who knows when that will be.

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