MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — AUSTRALIAN OPEN 2022: Rafael Nadal won a men’s record 21st Grand Slam singles title after coming back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in an almost 5 1/2-hour, five-set Australian Open final. He’s also just the fourth man in history to win all four of the tennis majors at least twice. The victory in Australia allowed Nadal to break a tie he shared with Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The two other members of the so-called Big Three didn’t get a chance this time to add to their 20 major titles. Federer is still recovering from knee surgery and Djokovic was deported from Australia for failing to meet the country’s strict COVID-19 vaccination regulations. Top-ranked Ash Barty ended a 44-year drought for Australians by winning the women’s singles final over American Danielle Collins. Barty became the first Australian to win the singles championship here since Chris O’Neil won the women’s title in 1978.
SUNDAY WEATHER
Cloudy, high of 29 Celsius (84 Fahrenheit).
RESULTS SUMMARY:
Men's Singles Final: No. 6 Rafael Nadal beat No. 2 Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5.
Women’s Singles Final: No. 1 Ash Barty beat No. 27 Danielle Collins 6-3, 7-6 (2).
Men’s Doubles Final: Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios beat Matt Ebden and Max Purcell 7-5, 6-4.
Women’s Doubles Final: No. 1 Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova beat Beatriz Haddad Maia and Anna Danilina 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4.
Mixed Doubles Final: No. 5 Ivan Dodig and Kristina Mladenovic beat Jason Kubler and Jaimee Fourlis 6-3, 6-4.
Junior Boys Final: No. 1 Bruno Kuzuhara beat No. 4 Jakub Mensik 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), 7-5.
Junior Girls Final: No. 1 Petra Marcinko beat No. 8 Sofia Costoulas 7-5, 6-1.
STAT OF THE DAY:
21 — Rafael Nadal's men's record number of Grand Slam singles titles.
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
“The most unexpected, without a doubt. And most surprising I think for everyone. For me personally, especially ... because I know how I arrived here." — Nadal on where he rates this comeback victory in terms of his career.
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