5 times Rafael Nadal shocked the world with his performances ft. Australian Open 2022 final, French Open 2013 SF
22-time Major champion Rafael Nadal announced his retirement on Thursday, October 10. He will call it a time on his stellar career in front of his home crowd at the Davis Cup Finals in November.
The Spaniard gave it his all for nearly two decades, and staged one comeback after another. Many thought this day would come a lot earlier but he proved the naysayers wrong time after time. However, he couldn't outlast father time, an opponent who always has the last laugh.
With his impending retirement, an era of tennis has come to an end. Nadal has been a part of many entertaining contests throughout his career. As the world prepares to bid adieu to him, here's a look at five of his performances where he left everyone stunned in silence:
#5 - Rafael Nadal stages an epic comeback to win the Australian Open 2022 and move ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the Grand Slam race
A career renaissance saw Nadal capture six Major titles from the start of the 2017 season. However, injuries began to slow him down in 2021, and he effectively wrapped up that season after the French Open. Djokovic swept three of the four Majors that year, and the Grand Slam tally stood at 20 apiece for the illustrious members of the Big 3.
Nadal then returned to action in 2022 with renewed vigor. He made a triumphant return and won the very first tournament of his comeback, the Melbourne Summer Set. He carried this momentum into the season's first Major, and found himself in the final, his sixth at the venue.
The Spaniard won the title Down Under in his first final appearance back in 2009. However, he lost the next four finals, and for a while it looked like he would walk away with the runner-up trophy yet again.
Nadal dropped the first couple of sets against Daniil Medvedev, and was on the cusp of losing the third set too. Serving in the sixth game of the set, he went down 0-40 but dug himself out of that hole.
It proved to be the turning point of the match, and he turned the tide to claim his second title in Melbourne. He completed a double career Grand Slam with the win, and broke his tie with Djokovic and Federer to take the lead in the Major race for the first time in his career.
#4 - Rafael Nadal rallies from the brink of defeat to snatch the Italian Open title from Roger Federer
The initial stages of the Nadal-Federer rivalry leaned heavily in the former's favor. Their sixth career meeting would decide the winner of the Italian Open in 2006. The Spaniard had won four of their previous five matches.
Both came out the gate swinging, with the first two sets going to a tie-break. Federer claimed the first, and Nadal struck back to level the match. The latter nabbed the third set to inch closer to the finish line, only for the former to peg him back by taking the fourth set.
Federer raced to a 4-1 lead in the deciding set, and it appeared as if he would finally one-up his younger rival. However, Nadal had other plans as he mounted a late charge for the title.
The Spaniard reeled off three games in a row to even the score. A double fault in the 12th game of the set brought up two match points for Federer. On the edge of defeat, he played his most measured tennis to break down his opponent's forehand, and erased the match points.
Federer was another two points from winning the title as he led 5-3 in the tie-break. He didn't win another point after that as Nadal upped the ante to sweep the next four points, and with it, the title. After battling for over five hours, he finally registered a 6-7 (0), 7-6 (5), 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (5) win and demonstrated why it would be a fool's errand to count him out even when the odds are stacked against him.
#3 - Rafael Nadal survives a valiant effort from Fernando Verdasco to reach his first Australian Open final
Heading into 2009, Nadal had five Major titles to his name, though he had yet to reach a Major final on hardcourts. He came quite close to doing so in 2008 but lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open and the US Open.
As the top seed at the Australian Open in 2009, he advanced to his second consecutive semifinal at the venue, where he faced compatriot Fernando Verdasco for a spot in the final.
While Nadal was a regular fixture in the latter stages of a Major by now, this was the first time that Verdasco had progressed beyond the fourth round. As such, the former was expected to ease past the latter. While he was successful in his efforts, it was anything but easy.
Both players matched each other shot for shot right from the first rally, a sign of how things would progress for the next five hours. Nadal dropped the opening set but bounced back to take the next two. Verdasco rose to the occasion and claimed the fourth set to force a decider.
It was at this stage Nadal's experience helped him out. He put an end to Verdasco's heroics with a hard-fought 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-7 (1), 6-4 win after five hours and 14 minutes and advanced to his first final in Melbourne.
The match was a classic demonstration of Nadal's tenacity and endurance. Those attributes later helped him beat Federer in another five-set slugfest to claim his sixth Major title, and first on hardcourts.
#2 - Rafael Nadal outlasts Novak Djokovic in a marathon duel en route to the French Open title in 2013
Heading into the French Open in 2013, Nadal won titles in Barcelona, Madrid, and Rome. However, he was stunned by Djokovic in the Monte-Carlo Masters final, and snapped his eight-year reign at the venue.
The Spaniard was gunning to win the French Open for the fourth year in a row, and bumped into his rival in the semifinals. Nadal nabbed the first set and led by a break in the second set, only for Djokovic to turn the tables on him and bag the set.
Nadal raced through the third set to put himself in the driver's seat yet again. He was up a break twice in the fourth set, and even served for the match but Djokovic persevered to take the match into a fifth set.
The Serb had momentum on his side by now, and an early break helped him secure a 4-2 advantage. However, the Spaniard broke back to stay hot on his trail, and toughed out a 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-7 (3), 9-7 win over his rival. The match proved why the French Open became his personal fortress. He would then beat David Ferrer in the final to capture his eight title in Paris, and set another slew of records.
#1 - Rafael Nadal dethrones Roger Federer at Wimbledon in one of the sport's most memorable matches
Federer arrived at Wimbledon 2008 as the five-time defending champion, and had beaten Nadal in the final of the last two editions. The Centre Court at the All England Club was his territory, and after losing to his younger rival at the French Open, he restored the order with a win here.
The two locked horns in the summit clash for the third year in a row in 2008. Nadal sprinted to a lead as he clinched the first two sets, and had break point chances in the third set as well. However, Federer bailed himself out of trouble, and eventually led 5-4 when the match was stopped due to rain.
The Swiss ace flipped the script once they were back on court after an hour, and even saved two championship points in the fourth set tie-break. The two remained on even footing for most of the final set, until the Spaniard snagged the decisive break in the 15th game, and then served out the match to capture his first Wimbledon crown.
Nadal achieved the rare Channel Slam thanks to his triumph at Wimbledon, having already won the French Open a month ago. The victory also set the stage for his ascension to the top of the rankings a few weeks later. The match was a defining moment in their rivalry, and established the Spaniard as a threat outside of the French Open as well.