Rafael Nadal recently made news as the first man in history to win 21 grand slams. Not only that, he managed to do so by battling it out with Daniil Medvedev in an epic five-set match.

The final, which lasted almost 5 and a half hours, saw both the players pull off insane shots. They stepped up their games often as they tried to one-up each other in a contest of perseverance and dedication.

Medvedev seemed to be in control for the first two sets, which he won, with little pressure. But as is common with Nadal and his never-say-never attitude, the Spaniard did not lose hope even when the World No. 2 had three break points in the third set.

In what is possibly one of the best matches Nadal has ever played, he came back from two sets down to win the next three sets and therefore the championship. Everyone in the circuit is aware of Rafael Nadal’s fighter attitude, but this performance at the Australian Open was still surprising.

After the amazing history and drama scripted in the final, Chris Evert, the former World No. 1 praised the level of tennis that 5-set matches bring.

Read more: ‘He Doesn’t Need Any Advice’: Rafael Nadal Believes Daniil Medvedev Will Turn The Crowds Towards Him Someday

After Rafael Nadal’s five-setter, Chris Evert says they are the greatest

Christopher Clarey, the popular sports journalist and tennis writer for the New York Times, recently tweeted a picture of Rafael Nadal. In the caption, he was appreciating the best of five-sets matches and how intense they were. “There’s a purity and, every once in a while, majesty to letting the best players in the world problem solve, long form,” he said.

Former world No. 1 Chris Evert, who has 18 Grand Slam singles titles to her name, retweeted that tweet, agreeing with Clarey.

She said that the most historical and epic matches have all been five-set matches. They are also satisfying for the players as this kind of fight is what the players train for. “Totally agree…. The greatest, most historical, most remembered matches have been 5 sets. This is what you train hard for, to put it all out there…” she said.

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Nadal, often called the ‘Spanish bull’ has not been a stranger to extremely intense five-setters, especially against his two great rivals, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. What did you make of the Australian Open final? Let us know in the comments.

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