We’ve officially wrapped up all the matches from down under in Melbourne. And boy did we get some great, thrilling finals this past weekend for the championship. Here are the 2022 Australian Open results from the singles action.
Men’s Singles
On the men’s side, the people’s champ Rafael Nadal came back from two sets down to defeat Daniill Medvedev 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5. It’s being called one of Nadal’s greatest, and most sweetest, Grand Slam victories. Nadal also considers it to be one of his greatest comebacks.
The match took five hours and 24 minutes, which is the second longest Grand Slam championship in history. Nadal now holds 21 different Grand Slam titles, including two from Melbourne. This means he holds at least two titles from each of the four Grand Slams.
I think we can all agree it was the most unexpected victory. Over the recent years, with Nadal being such a physical player, we haven’t seen him at his strongest. He’s been plagued by various injuries, the most recent of which was on his foot (last year). Nadal was himself uncertain about his aptitude coming into the 2022 season.
Asked if this was his greatest victory, Nadal nodded. “The most unexpected, without a doubt,” he said, smiling. “And most surprising I think for everyone. For you guys, too. For me personally, especially, no? Because I know how I arrived here. I don’t know. Have been a very emotional night. Even now I am destroyed, honestly, physically. I can’t think much, I can’t remember a lot of moments of the match.”
What else does this mean? As an avid Rafa from the start (I’m talking when Nadal was about 19 and muscled his way onto the ATP circuit with a standout performance at the Miami Masters), I’m excited to say that Rafa has claimed back the GOAT title. With his most recent win down under, Nadal now holds a total of 21 Grand Slam titles, enough to surpass both Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
If Djkovic hadn’t been deported from the country last week due to a revoked visa over COVID concerns, I’m not sure we would have had the same result here.
It was definitely a slug-fest of a match, with momentum being traded frequently, game points being saved and/or converted, and long-winded rallies. It’s just the type of match that best suits Nadal’s style and it’s great to see him play that way even after all these years.
Women’s Singles
On the ladies’ side, Australian fans were in for a treat as local Ashleigh Barty took home the women’s championship. Honestly, it’s been a while since Australia has produced a real, viable champion on either the men’s or women’s side.
Especially since the days of old when you look back on the early era of Margaret Court, Ken Rosewall, and Rod Laver. In the 1990s and earlier 2000’s, we were able to see Patrick Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt rise to the top of the rankings, but fell short in bringing home the championship on their home court.
But Barty is here to save the day. Barty’s win ended a 44-year drought of a homegrown singles champion at the Australian Open.
She joins the elite group of tennis players that have been able to win a Grand Slam on all three surfaces (hard, clay, and grass). This group of players is less prevalent on the men’s side, but on the women’s, the only other player to boast this feat (that is still an active professional), is Serena Williams.
And unlike Nadal, Barty barely struggled on her road to the championship title. She only dropped three service games, and not a single set for the entire two weeks.
“As an Aussie, the most important part of this tournament is being able to share it with so many people,” Barty said in her victory speech. “You guys today in the crowd have been nothing shy of exceptional. This crowd is one of the most fun I’ve ever played in front of and you guys brought me so much joy out here today.”
