Two years ago, Rafael Nadal stood in the centre of Rod Laver Arena, hands over his mouth in disbelief.

He had just battled back from a two-set deficit against Daniil Medvedev, fighting for a little over five hours to lift the Australian Open title and secure a then-men’s record 21st Grand Slam title.

It is a little different this year.

The 37-year-old had arrived in Australia on the first leg of his farewell tour, having said 2024 will likely be his last, but the tape that has long held up the body has unravelled a little further. A hip injury sustained at the Brisbane International has ruled him out of this year’s tournament.

Nadal may still return to Melbourne – and if there is one thing his career has taught us, it is to never rule him out – but he may also have said goodbye to the city that was home to one of his “most emotional” moments.

Two gruelling five-set title wins

It might not be surprising that, given his dominance on the French Open clay, only two of Nadal’s 22 Slam titles came on the Melbourne hard courts.

There was, however, a 13-year gap – and four final losses – between the two titles in 2009 and 2022. His 2009 victory was another chapter in his long rivalry with Roger Federer, while 2022 saw him hold off another upstart in US Open champion Medvedev.

Both matches went to five sets. Both went beyond the four-hour mark. Both saw an epic display of defence from Nadal, saving 13 of 19 break points against Federer and 16 of 22 against Medvedev.

They were victories that, in many ways, were classic Nadal – hands taped up, headband in place, willing every inch of his body on to victory.

But in between the triumphs were a series of misses. Nadal reached six finals in Melbourne, winning two of them, and fell at the quarter-final stage seven times.

He has a 77-16 win-loss record at the Slam and an overall win percentage of 83% – the same as at Wimbledon, where he has played 23 fewer matches.

Nadal has been unlucky with injuries throughout his career, which has been a factor in Australian Open crunch matches, as well as his opponents playing lights out tennis against him.

Near misses

• 2010 – quarter-finals: Nadal, the defending champion, faces Andy Murray in the last eight. Murray wins a 50-minute first set and fights back from 4-2 down in the second before Nadal is forced to receive treatment on his right knee. Visibly hampered, Nadal retires at 3-0 down in the third.
• 2011 – quarter-finals: Arrives at the tournament with the chance to become the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles. The top seed, Nadal enjoys serene progress before injury once again strikes. With his left thigh heavily strapped and his movement inhibited, he loses in straight sets to close friend David Ferrer.
• 2012 – final: Reaches his first final in Melbourne since 2009, where Novak Djokovic awaits. The two battle it out in the longest major singles final in Open era history, an epic lasting five hours and 53 minutes, with Djokovic emerging on top. The two were so exhausted that they were given chairs to sit on during the trophy presentation. It remains the only time Nadal has lost a major after winning the first set.
• 2014 – final: Three-time defending champion Djokovic is beaten in the quarter-finals and Nadal beats Federer in the semis to give himself another shot at Melbourne glory. All that stands between him and the trophy is first-time Slam finalist Stan Wawrinka. But the Swiss comes through in four sets to become the first man outside the then ‘Big Four’ to win a major title for five years.
• 2017 – final: Another Federer-Nadal final, but this time Federer is 35 years old, on his way back from a six-month lay-off with a knee injury and without a win over Nadal in a major final since 2007. Ninth seed Nadal is the favourite but it is Federer who prevails in a five-set thriller.
• 2019 – final: Second seed Nadal reaches the showpiece without dropping a set. But against a locked-in Djokovic, Nadal crumbles, losing 6-3 6-2 6-3 as Djokovic registers his biggest victory in a major final over his great rival.

Why 2022 was such a big deal

Nadal said he was “physically destroyed” after his victory over Medvedev two years ago, with a chair once again being brought on stage for him at the trophy presentation.

He set a number of records with the victory, becoming the first player to win an Australian Open final from two sets down in the Open era, as well as breaking the tie with Federer and Djokovic for the most men’s major singles titles.

But the victory was so much more than that, with Nadal describing it as one of the “most emotional” of his career.

The Australian Open was only Nadal’s second competitive event in five months, coming off the back of an uncertain six months in which he feared he might have to retire.

Chronic pain in his left foot – a problem still to this day – restricted Nadal to just one tournament in the final six months of the season, while a bad bout of coronavirus in December also impacted his preparations.

But arguably, no-one really expected him to win, or to win in the way he did. His quarter-final against Denis Shapovalov went to five sets, with Nadal needing stomach treatment at one point, and it was his trademark grit that got him to the final.

By the time Medvedev went 6-2 7-6 (7-5) up and with three break points for a 4-3 third-set lead in the showpiece, he almost had one hand on the trophy.

But it was Nadal who prevailed. Undoubtedly helped by the crowd, Nadal just fought. The forehand whizzed back and forth, the serve cranked up, the movement looked better – and somehow, he came out on top.

It was, in so many ways, the epitome of Nadal’s career. And if he has played his last Australian Open, the 2022 title is a perfect reminder as to why he will be so missed, both at this year’s tournament and in the future.