An admirable fightback

The best of achievements come after the greatest of challenges. To add a definitive moment to the longstanding battle between the top guns of tennis, Rafael Nadal put up a brilliant fight under not-so-good circumstances at the Australian Open in Melbourne. In fact, all the three tennis superstars tied at 20 Grand Slams — Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal — had their own sets of limitations or challenges. While Djokovic had an issue with getting vaccinated, Federer has been facing severe injuries — both being ruled out of the Australian Open tournament. It was, however, Nadal who fought against a degenerative bone disease in his left foot to recover in August last year. Apart from those major physical challenges, the final against Daniil Medvedev was no less than an ordeal for Nadal. Going two sets down initially against the unforgiving youngster would have broken the spirit of any tennis player. But then, Nadal went on to hand his rival a heavy defeat in the five consecutive sets that followed. That was definitely an amazing fightback by any standards. This was the first time ever that Nadal went on to win a Grand Slam final after getting down in the first two sets. Second-ranked Medvedev, a decade younger than Nadal, was the one who stopped the winning streak of Novak Djokovic back in the US Open tournament in September last year — preventing him from breaking the tie between the 'Big Three'. This time around, Nadal's temperament proved out to be indomitable and Medvedev couldn't afford to stand tall as an obstruction before him. Even before Nadal reached the final, he had a tough square off with Denis Shapolov in the quarter-finals. Of course, these sorts of challenges are part and parcel of any sport. But the spirit that Nadal has shown to overcome these challenges is admirable. More than the number of Grand Slams he has won, it is that winning spirit and control of nerves that should count Nadal among the best. This also sends a signal that Rafael Nadal is nowhere going to lose his focus on consistency which, undoubtedly, is a key aspect of sport besides spirit and skills. Medvedev was also a hungry opponent for Nadal as he had lost to Djokovic in last year's Australian Open finals in February. Talking in terms of direct square offs between Nadal and Medvedev, the former has a lead of 4-1 in overall contests. The grandeur of Nadal's sporting instincts became clearer when his opponent Medvedev came out in all praise for the Spaniard when he said that Rafael "played unreal, he raised his level." Nadal's deservedness stole away the sense of disappointment from his rival who knew that Nadal had just got what he so purely deserved. Even his long-time rivals were overwhelmed by his performance. Both Djokovic and Federer have got it right; it is the 'fighting spirit' of Nadal that deserves special appreciation — be it the fight of getting to the Australian Open from the crutches in a matter of months or the fight to hold his nerve to clinch the title after getting two sets down before a strong rival. Novak Djokovic's deportation was certainly a decisive moment for the tournament. It must be noted that Djokovic has a brilliant record at the Australian Open. He has won a total of seven singles Australian Open titles. Roger Federer has won six Australian Opens singles and Nadal has won just two — including the recent one. In fact, Nadal had won his first Australian Open title way back in 2009. Most of the Grand Slam titles for Nadal have come from the French Open — a total of 13. Now, having clinched his second Australian Open Singles title, Rafael Nadal has become the fourth tennis player to have won all the Grand Slam titles twice. Of course, Novak Djokovic has lost a great deal after being ruled out of the Australian Open this year for not being vaccinated. Notably, while Federer's maiden Grand Slam title came in 2003 in the form of Wimbledon and Nadal won the 2005 French Open as his first Grand Slam, Djokovic was relatively a late starter with maiden Grand Slam title coming in 2008 in the Australian Open. It only represents the level of skill sets claimed by the Serbian. He has of course a long way to go. But ultimately, one's decisions at a particular juncture and the level of consistency shown all throughout determine the stature of the sportsperson. Without getting much into comparison, Rafael Nadal's skills, temperament and consistency truly place him as a great sportsperson.