The 35-year-old Mallorcan toppled Russian Daniil Medvedev on Sunday to become the first player to claim a 21st Australian Open“>Grand Slam title. As a great champion. The proof in numbers.
4
By winning a second time in Australia after 2009, the Majorcan became the fourth player, after Roy Emerson, Rod Laver and Novak Djokovic, to win each Grand Slam title at least twice.
5
The Spaniard is the 5th oldest player to have played in the Open final at 35 years and 241 days, behind Ken Rosewall 37 years and 62 days (winner in 1972), Mal Anderson 37 years and 306 days (runner-up in 1972 ), Federer 36 years and 173 days (winner in 2018) and again Ken Rosewall 36 years 73 days winner 1971.
6
The Mallorcan has played his sixth final in Melbourne and this is the second time he has won after 2009 and a victory against Roger Federer after, already, a fight in 5 sets (7-5, 3-6, 7- 6, 3-6, 6-2). He lost twice to Novak Djokovic (2012 and 2019), once to Stan Wawrinka (2014) and Roger Federer (2017).
7
It is the seventh time since the start of the Open era and the second time in a year and a half that a player has managed to overcome a handicap of two sets to zero in the final of a Grand Slam. That hadn’t happened at the Australian Open since 1965.
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13
His “home” remains Roland-Garros where he won 13 times, which is a record of victories in the same Grand Slam tournament. He won 106 times on clay in Paris (for 4 defeats) and never lost in the final.
16
The number of years between Nadal’s first Grand Slam trophy, at Roland-Garros in 2005, and his most recent on Sunday (16 years and seven months). No other male player has shown such longevity in the Open era (since 1968).
21
It’s done and it’s historic! Rafael Nadal became the first player in the Open era to win a 21st Grand Slam title on Sunday. He is now ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, them at 20.
29
Rafael Nadal played his 29th Grand Slam final on Sunday (6 at the Australian Open, 13 at Roland-Garros, 5 at Wimbledon and 5 at the US Open). He is now only two lengths behind Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
76
By winning his incredible standoff in the final, the left-hander signed his 76th success in Melbourne for 15 defeats.
90
Rafael Nadal has now lifted 90 trophies on the circuit (including 36 in Masters 1000). Novak Djokovic won 86 and Roger Federer 103.
209
The number of weeks spent as world number one.
501
The king of clay has also passed the bar of 500 matches on hard court. By beating the Italian Matteo Berrettini in the semi-finals on Friday, the Spaniard had reached this level, after Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
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