"You make a mistake if you still call Rafa the clay-court king. He has won on every surface, and every Grand Slam tournament at least twice."
That was Boris Becker's analysis, speaking on Eurosport following Rafael Nadal's record-breaking 21st Slam singles title at the 2022 Australian Open.
Nadal, intently focused on the present, shared this in his post-match press conference: “It's amazing to achieve another Grand Slam [title] at this moment of my career. Of course, I know it's a special number, 21; I know what it means. But from my point of view today is an unforgettable day… I feel lucky to achieve one more very special thing in my tennis career."
Staring down a two-set deficit to Daniil Medvedev in the final, the 35-year-old found a way to outplay and outlast the man widely considered the best hard-courter in the game. A few short months ago, Medvedev's US Open victory—capped off with a straight-sets domination of Grand Slam-chasing Novak Djokovic—cemented him as the man to beat on the hard stuff.
“At the end, history is about the victory," Nadal continued. "But the way that you win the match in terms of personal feelings is different. The way that I achieved this trophy tonight was just unforgettable, one of the most emotional matches of my tennis career, without a doubt... means a lot to me.”
At the US Open, we've seen the Spaniard reign over New York's concrete jungle on four occasions (2010, '13, '17, '19). His first hard-court Slam title came in Melbourne in 2009, after he'd already amassed four Roland Garros titles and one at Wimbledon.
By winning the 2010 US Open, Nadal completed the career Grand Slam. He's now won every Slam singles title at least twice, joining Djokovic as the only man to do so in the Open era.
Nadal’s success is fueled by his ability to defend and attack with equal ferocity. It has always been a lethal combination on the slower clay courts, but on faster surfaces, the onus is on the latter skillset—the ability to strike first and dictate points. Over the years, his improvement in that area has led to greatness on hard courts; his growth a testament to the relentless work ethic that has defined both his game and his career.
Throughout the 2010 US Open, much attention was paid to Nadal’s newly bolstered serve. He added 10-12 mph to his first and second serve average speed from 2009, according to a 2013 USA Today article, and routinely clocked 135 mph on the radar gun. It was a big change from his previous delivery which relied more on spin than speed, and it immediately reaped rewards. Nadal won 95 percent of his service games in the 2010 tournament, dropping serve just twice on his way to the final.
In the press, Nadal attributed some of the improvement to a minor grip change, but was quick to downplay the significance of the adjustment. To him, it was just another small improvement, one of many he had made to his game throughout years of dedication to the sport.
“All my life I’ve worked on my serve,” Nadal said at a 2010 US Open press conference. “Not this summer, no. All my life.”
At the 2022 Australian Open, the Spaniard again found success with added punch on his delivery. On both first and second serves, his average speed was more than 6 mph faster than in his previous AO campaign. He followed those aggressive serves with first-ball forehands on more than 80% of points as he looked to stay on the attack. According to the Australian Open website, Nadal's average forehand was marginally faster than Medvev's over the course of the tournament, though Nadal's heavy topspin imparted over 1,000 more rpms on the ball than his flat-hitting opponent.
Nadal's win over Medvedev was his 501st hard-court victory, and he is one of just four men to reach the 500 mark in the Open era (Federer, 783; Djokovic, 634; Agassi, 592). He has more wins on the cement than clay, and his 501-140 hard-court record gives him a 78% win rate on the surface, compared to 91.5% (464-43) on clay.
Nadal also owns 10 ATP Masters titles on hard courts, including five at the Canada's National Bank Open (formerly Rogers Cup) and three at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
His four US Open titles leave him level with John McEnroe and one behind Federer, Pete Sampras and Jimmy Connors for the Open era record. Nadal has not lost a completed match his last three New York appearances: he won the titles in 2017 and '19, and retired midmatch against Juan Martin del Potro in the 2018 semis, giving him a 19-1 record in that span.
While Nadal missed the 2020 and '21 US Opens due to the pandemic and a foot injury, respectively, he'll be back among the title favorites this summer. One year after Djokovic entered New York chasing a Grand Slam, who would write off the Spaniard from making a run at even more history this year?
