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Tim Henman admitted he thought Rafael Nadal was cooked after losing the first two sets in the Australian Open final. Nadal blew multiple chances to win the second set as Daniil Medvedev took a two-set lead in the Australian Open final.
Nadal refused to quit after falling down by two sets as he created a stunning comeback to beat Medvedev 2-6 6-7 (5) 6-4 6-4 7-5. "I can’t quite get my head around it given the last six months for Rafa, having not played much coming into this event and all the circumstances he faced prior to the tournament," Henman said on Eurosport.
"The resilience, he was down two-sets-to-love, I thought he was cooked, and he found a way to keep on fighting and coming back. We thought the younger guy and the longer match was going to play into Medvedev’s hands, it was just incredible to see."
Nadal worked his way back into the match
"Rafa was able to stay in the moment.
There is no point thinking about the final when you are in the second round, you’ve got to take it step-by-step. In the second set, Nadal had so many opportunities and he didn’t win it, so you are thinking he is down two sets to love and there is just no way back," Henman continued.
"I think part of his mindset is that he doesn’t think of the fifth set when he is in the third set. He started to build those bridges, he started to get more energy as the match went on. With the crowd support, they were just driving him to the finish line." Nadal now owns a record 21 Grand Slam titles.
Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic didn't play in Melbourne and they stay at 20 Grand Slams. Nadal's next big goal will be to win a record 14th French Open.