Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Men’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 31, 2022. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev looks dejected after Spain’s Rafael Nadal wins the men’s singles final. REUTERS/Morgan Sette
Reuters
Tennis – Australian Open – Men’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia – January 31, 2022. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev looks dejected after Spain’s Rafael Nadal wins the men’s singles final. REUTERS/Morgan Sette
Rafael Nadal achieved the impossible when he won his 21st Grand Slam championship. The Spaniard won the Australian Open 2022 in Melbourne, in just his first month back on the official ATP tour.
In what was a grueling five-and-a-half-hour battle against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, Nadal emerged victorious. Thus, he did what no man had done before: lift a Grand Slam trophy for the 21st time.
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On the other hand, his 25-year-old opponent expressed his dejection with the result, as well as the crowd. Here is what Rafa said about Medvedev’s comments.
Rafael Nadal has no advice for Daniil Medvedev
At the end of the final, Daniil Medvedev talked about how things went down and mentioned how his loss to Nadal was one of the moments the kid, as he referred to himself, stopped dreaming.
"The kid stopped dreaming: the story of Daniil Medvedev" pic.twitter.com/6x4jxhTurx
— Lorenzo Ercoli (@Ladal17) January 30, 2022
Thus, a journalist asked Rafa if he had any words of advice for Medvedev in that regard.
“I think he’s enough smart,” Nadal responded. “He doesn’t need any advice of me.” Then Nadal appreciated his opponent, praising his personality. “Daniil sometimes on court is very passionate, but face-to-face, he’s a very nice guy.”
“He’s a very intelligent guy, good person,” Rafa continued. However, Nadal also expressed his regret over the way the match turned, and how it affected Medvedev.
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“In some way, I felt sorry that he felt like that…like this after the match,” said Nadal. After all, it couldn’t have been pleasant, “losing a match like this… with almost all the crowd supporting your opponent.”
Rafa believes in Medvedev’s future
Even though the crowd at the Australian Open 2022 final had clearly been in Rafa’s favor, Nadal himself had no doubt that they would soon be cheering for Daniil just as loudly.
Reuters
Tennis – ATP Finals – The O2, London, Britain – November 21, 2020. Russia’s Daniil Medvedev with Spain’s Rafael Nadal after winning their semi-final match. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Speaking of the future, Nadal stated that he is sure that Medvedev has “plenty of time to enjoy amazing crowds in his favor.” In fact, Nadal mentioned that he didn’t just mean crowds in Australia, but also “around the world.”
Rafael Nadal celebrated his record 21st Grand Slam title in Melbourne, posing with the Australian Open trophy on the lawns of the city's Government House https://t.co/v4lnakxVrL pic.twitter.com/7kx6Q0nUM3
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 31, 2022
“He will experience this amazing feeling,” Nadal said about Medvedev gaining the favor of the tennis crowds across the globe. “I don’t have any doubt about that,” the 21-time Grand Slam champion concluded.
Do you think Daniil Medvedev was right with his comments or is crowd interaction always a two-way street?
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