Nadal powered up for record-breaking Australian Open Title

It was truly a brain game! Rafael Nadal defeated Daniil Medvedev in the Australian Open final with a dramatic comeback victory of 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. The battle lasted 5 hours and twenty-four minutes, ending at 1:11 a.m. on Monday morning.

In the first set, Medvedev brought Nadal's aggressive game style to a standstill, with the average rally length rising to 6.27 strokes per point. Nadal's longest rally to the final occurred in first round, when he defeated Marcos Giron with an average of 4.75 strokes per point.

Despite all Nadal has accomplished thus far, all of the incredible comebacks he has orchestrated, this may be the greatest achievement of them. Nadal came in Melbourne after a six-month absence due to surgery for a persistent foot problem that had caused him to ponder the prospect of never playing tennis again. But Rafael Nadal did the impossible, he stepped out of his comfort zone and fought like a till the very end.

“Tonight, has been very special,” Nadal said. “I give it everything that I have inside, believe me. I am super, super-tired in all ways. I even can’t celebrate. But was the day to give everything, no? I enjoyed. I enjoyed the fight. I enjoyed the emotions. At the end have this trophy with me means everything today, no?”, Nadal said.

Medvedev was particularly intrigued by Nadal's ability to handle pressure while attempting to do something no male player had ever done before.

“The way he managed to play throughout all these sets, even in the tough moments, for him it was for making history,” said Medvedev. “For sure he tried not to think about it, but it must have been somewhere in his head.” “He was really strong, even at four hours,” said Medvedev. “He didn't play for six months. He told me after the match that he hadn't practised much. It was unreal.”

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea posted is his Twitter: