MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Rafael Nadal has won a men’s record 21st Grand Slam singles title with a comeback five-set victory over second-ranked Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final.
He had to do it the hard way after Medvedev won the first two sets in a final that started late Sunday local time and ended almost 5 1/2 hours later on Monday morning.
The 35-year-old Spaniard now has one more than Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, his long-time rivals.
Nadal also became just the fourth man in history to win all four of the sport’s major titles at least twice.
Federer did not compete in this year's Australian Open. He is recovering from knee surgery.
Djokovic was scheduled to compete in the tournament but was kicked out of the country for failing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
