*Wins a record 21st Grand Slam title
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| Nadal celebrates |
Rafael Nadal beats Daniill Medvedev 2-6,6-7,6-4,6-4,7-5 in a five-set thriller to lift his second Australian Open title.
This is also his 21st Major title, becoming the first man to do so.
The first honours of the mega Nadal vs Medvedev have gone the Russian's way. Medvedev broke Nadal in Game 5 and 7 and eventually bagged the first set 6-2 in 42 minutes. While Nadal has looked inconsistent, Medvedev has looked strong on his serves and at the baseline.
The start to the second set was a better one for Nadal as he won a break point in Game 4. Then, Medvedev broke back in game 7 only to see Rafael Nadal win another break in the next game.
But Medvedev responded by breaking Nadal back again to make it 5-5. Eventually, after 84 minutes and a tie-breaker, Medvedev inched ahead to a 2-0 lead by closing it 7-6. The third set, till game 8, was relatively straightforward as the two players held their service games upto that point.
Nadal then pulled the trigger by breaking Medvedev in the next and then consolidating on it to take third set 6-4 in 64 minutes to make it 1-2. 20-time Grand Slam champion Nadal then struck first in the fourth set by breaking Medvedev in Game 3.
The Russian broke back in the next game to draw level. Nadal broke back in the subsequent and eventually won the fourth set 6-4 in 62 minutes to force a deciding 5th. After trading service holds till Game 4, Nadal inched ahead by breaking Medvedev's serve in Game 5 of the final set.
Medvedev broke again only to see the Spaniard break him for the second time and eventually hold to win the match.
~Hindustan Times
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