Rafael Nadal's triumph in Melbourne - A fairy tale in five acts
How Rafael Nadal crowned himself tennis king - and why tennis is the most beautiful sport in the world.
by Marcel Winters
last edit: Feb 07, 2022, 12:53 pm
Tennis is the most beautiful sport in the world. He combines aesthetics and elegance with top physical performance and unconditional willingness. During a match, the tennis player pushes into human limits and experiences the drama of being in all his acts firsthand. A tennis match is a big spectacle that reflects the whole of life: the tennis player goes through ups and downs, suffering and joy during a match, he has to be in top physical shape and mentally strong. He must be able to focus for hours. He has to be willing to put his heart in the field and push himself. He has to give everything and have the will to win within himself. This is the only way the tennis player can succeed on the court.
On January 30, 2022, such a tennis spectacle of Shakespearean proportions took place. In the final of the Australian Open, which has been taking place on hard court in Melbourne for many years, the 25-year-old Russian Daniil Medvedev , who won his first major tournament at the US Open in New York last year by triumphing over world number one Novak Djokovic , faced off and Rafael Nadal, the 13-time winner of Roland Garros, now 35 years old and already a living legend. In 2005 Nadal had won his first major title, back then in Paris in the final against Argentine Mariano Puerta. 19 more were added, so the "Bull of Manacor", as Rafael Nadal is called, together with Roger Federer, who did not take part in the Australian Open due to injury, and Novak Djokovic, who missed the first major tournament of the year because he refused to get vaccinated has earned the most Major wins. With a win at the Australian Open 2022, Nadal would surpass his two long-term competitors and would henceforth be the player with the most wins in major tournaments.
So the starting position before the final was clear and you knew that January 30, 2022 could be a day that could go down in the annals of tennis. It was a day when history could be made.
Nadal strives for variability
The Rod Laver Arena, where the finals took place, was very well attended despite the pandemic situation, and the tension in the air was palpable. A close, dramatic match was expected in advance. The bookmakers saw Medvedev, who had gradually improved over the past year and was now second in the world rankings, slightly ahead. In the semifinals, the Russian had confidently defeated his great opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas in four sets, while Nadal had also prevailed against the Italian Matteo Berrettini in four sets. So it was time for the big showdown.
Right from the start, Nadal tries to play variably so as not to let the opponent's rhythm come up. He surprisingly seldom executes his double-handed backhand, instead throwing in frequent slice balls, apparently with the aim of varying the tempo of the game. His forehand, one of the most feared on the entire tennis tour because it is hit with an enormous amount of spin (Nadal's forehand has an average spin rate of 3200 revolutions per minute, which no other player achieves), rarely comes into play, the error rate is too high high. Medvedev, on the other hand, plays calmly, hardly makes any mistakes and confidently secures the first set 6:2. In the second set, Nadal leads twice with a break, so he would only have to serve to win the set and make it 1-1, but is unable to get the lead to the finish. The service games are competitive and often last more than seven or eight minutes. Medvedev remains true to his game, acts from the baseline like a ball machine that is clocked like a Swiss watch. The Russian Schlaks, who measures almost two meters, gets almost every ball and keeps it in play. His style of play is grueling. He fights back and finally forces the decision in the tie break, which he wins 7:5.
Medvedev begins to quarrel
If a best-of-5 match were an Aristotelian tragedy, now would be the climax and tipping point. Set three brings a decision, one way or the other. If Medvedev also wins the third set, the match is over and he wins his second major title. For the time being, it looks like Medvedev will indeed be able to win the match early on. In the third set he is 3: 2 and 40: 0 ahead on Nadal's serve. A break at this point would mean a preliminary decision. Medvedev, however, misses the opportunities presented to him. He forgives the break opportunities and collects the 3:3. Nadal is getting stronger, safer, and making far fewer mistakes than in the first two sentences. His forehand is back, the dreaded forehand that Nadal follows up with the lasso in the air. In this phase he succeeds in something that should turn out to be extremely important for the further match: he emotionalizes the audience, takes it with him, shows emotions himself. He has finally arrived in the final, ready to go beyond all limits to create history. Medvedev begins to quarrel, takes on the spectators, the referee and the ball children. Perhaps he senses that something he has controlled for so long is slipping away from him. He has nothing to oppose Nadal in the third set - the set goes to the Spaniard 6: 4.
The fourth act is the retarding moment in the drama, ie the action is delayed a little before it finally discharges itself in the fifth act. The dramaturgy of the final follows the dramaturgy of classical drama. Nadal now dictates what is happening and has minimized the error rate from the first two sentences. He seems mentally and physically fresher than before and the audience tirelessly whips him forward, frenetically cheering every point won and honoring his self-sacrificing fight. Medvedev has lost his confidence and physical freshness. He makes unfortunate decisions, plays unnecessarily stops, misplaces the simplest of balls. Nadal consequently wins the fourth set 6: 4. The drama is approaching its climax. The famous momentum that is so often talked about in sport now has Nadal putting his stamp on the game. 13 years after his first (and only) triumph Down Under, back then in the final against the exceptional Swiss player Roger Federer, Nadal is about to win his second title and, more importantly, his 21st major title ever.
Time to make history.
Congestion over the physique
When the score was 2: 2, Nadal managed to break with a cracking forehand longline into Medvedev's backhand corner. At this point 4:40 hours have been played and as an amateur player you rub your eyes in amazement at the physique of the two athletes on the court. Anyone who has ever stood on the tennis court knows that after around 2 hours you reach the reserve area, in which the last forces must be mobilized and the will must triumph over the physical deficits. The sixth game in the fifth set, which Nadal ultimately wins, lasts 13:38 minutes. He confirms the previously won break, equivalent to the 4:2 lead. If tennis were a marathon (and sometimes it feels like it), we would have reached the 42-kilometer mark. The tension is unbearable. The final decision is imminent. The brutal, unforgiving thing about tennis is that there are no ties; you win or you lose. Unlike football, there has to be a winner and a loser. Nadal leads 5: 4 and serves to win the match. When the score was 15:0, he played a cracking forehand into Medvedev's forehand side, advanced to the net and put the volley cross into the field to make it 30:0. He is still two points short of his 21st title. But Medvedev comes back: Nadal serves a double fault at 30:30.
It is one o'clock local time in Melbourne, January 31st now, 3 p.m. German time. 5:13 hours is now on the scoreboard. Everyone in the room knows they're watching a historic match, regardless of the outcome. Will there be another turning point? Medvedev gets the breakball and the 5:5. A mental and physical exceptional performance! And Nadal? What is going on in his head at this moment? He was two points short of winning the match. Medvedev serves, but Nadal is there, wide awake, earning three break points and finally using the third after a simple Medvedev forehand error. This is the second time he serves to win the match. After exactly 5:24 hours, Nadal scored three match points with an ace. One more point and he is the most successful tennis player of all time. Nobody stays in their seats anymore. And this time Nadal shows nerves of steel: A cracking forehand drives Medvedev out of the field, Nadal advances to the net and plays a volley that Medvedev can no longer get over the net. It is finished. The second-longest Grand Slam final of all time (the longest contested in 2012 in the same place Djokovic and Nadal, with the better ending for the Serb) has found a winner and his name is Rafael Nadal, who thereby wins his 21st Major title. History has been made.
Bresnik - tennis is a laboratory of our society
It is precisely these moments that make tennis so fascinating. A whole life is experienced in five and a half hours, with all its ups and downs, the happy moments and the deeply sad, frustrating ones. World-class tennis is a miniature of life, a grand spectacle. After two sets, Daniil Medvedev was the uncrowned king, but Rafael Nadal was crowned in the end. What didn't the players have to endure! Nadal acted, died, rose and succeeded, exceeding the limits of what was humanly possible.
Tennis in all its facets is a highly complex sport. It is a subtle interaction of a wide variety of parameters: physical fitness, which has reached an almost unbelievable level in recent decades, especially among professional athletes, the measurement of the court (tennis is like chess, only without the dice!), the mental Freshness, which is required to be successful, the ability to concentrate, which must be maintained for hours, and the unconditional will to win, without which success is not possible. All these components of the tennis game have to come together. Günter Bresnik, the former coach of Dominic Thiem and current supervisor of Gael Monfils, once wrote that world-class professional tennis is a fascinating laboratory in our society. It shows what people can achieve with personal responsibility, assertiveness and willingness to perform. He is right.
Perhaps tennis is also so fascinating for spiritual people because it can itself be located in the sphere of art. There are beats as beautiful as a Brahms symphony or lines by Rilke. The one-handed backhands of Stan Wawrinka or Denis Shapovalov are absolutely beautiful. The way the body stretches, then a thunderous one-handed backhand chases down the line. This is pure poetry. Perhaps the most accomplished esthete in the history of tennis is Roger Federer. In its prime, he took tennis to a new, artistic level. But it is not only the aesthetics that place tennis in the artistic realm, the game itself, as I have already indicated, is a 5-act drama. The first sentence introduces us to the two opponents. We see which tactics they follow, which shots they prefer and which weaknesses they have.
people, not machines
The first movement is often a feeling, a first acquaintance, getting used to the environment, in other words an exposition. The second sentence reinforces the impressions from the first sentence or provides the first twists. If a player takes the lead with 2-0 sets, as in the final of the Australian Open, the climax is already near, because the third set, the climax and turning point in classic drama at the same time, the peripetia, could bring the decision or not the turn. It is important to stay focused, to concentrate your strengths, to be with yourself and your game, to block out distractions, to get rid of disturbing thoughts. All concentration must be devoted to the game. The fourth movement is then only a prelude to the ultimate escalation in the fifth movement, the retarding moment. After all the hardships, the body is so worn out that the effort of will, the unconditional will, is now the most important thing. The player must be willing to go beyond the physical limits. Especially when you consider that the players in the fifth set have usually been on the court for several hours, it is absolutely admirable with what precision they still act. When you're sitting spellbound in front of the TV screen, you have to keep reminding yourself that you're dealing with people and not machines.
I spoke of the fact that tennis has undergone major development in recent decades - towards more athleticism, more professionalism, more power on the court. The serve-and-volley game, which was particularly popular on fast surfaces, has almost completely disappeared, long baseline duels now dominate events on the pitch. Nothing is left to chance with absolute top players like Djokovic, Federer or Nadal, whose successes have inspired many young players and have become global superstars. A whole team of experts is at your side: athletic and fitness trainers, tactics trainers, psychologists, physiotherapists, video analysts, nutrition and media consultants, stringers and many more. Tennis has never been more professional than it is today. With the help of digital tools, attempts are made to record and evaluate every detail. What could be improved about the movement? What is the nutrition plan like? How is the player's mental state? The player is fully measured to get the most out of him. Success can be planned and chance is a devil that you want to avoid. This is how modern, professional tennis works.
But all of the developments that are both impressive and a little frightening are secondary when the modern day gladiators, and tennis players represent nothing else, step onto the court. Then it begins, the great spectacle of being, which means triumph for one and defeat for the other. Like that historic day in January 2022 when Rafael Nadal made history.