MELBOURNE, Australia -- Rafael Nadal is within one win of the men's record 21st Grand Slam singles title.
He will have to beat second seed Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open on Sunday to create history. And Medvedev is chasing a piece of his own history after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in a heated semi-final on Friday. The US Open champion is aiming to become the first man in the Open era to win his second Grand Slam title at the next major tournament.
Nadal entered the final in Australia for the sixth time with a 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win against seventh seed Matteo Berrettini in the men's first semi-final.
Medvedev had one more quick and challenging run after another in the Australian Open final. He had to deal with a hostile crowd in his second-round win over Nick Kyrgios, save a match point and rally two sets to defeat Felix Auger-Aliassim in a nearly five-hour quarterfinal victory. Then in the second set of the semi-finals, he had to regain his cool after getting angry.
The Russian yelled at chair umpire Jaime Campistel at the changer after serving a double-fault for accepting a late break, received a code violation for a visual obscenity when he pointed to a Tsitsipas pro crowd with his hand, and then demanded That his opponent should be cautioned to receive coaching from the stands - in Greek - from his father.
Medvedev returned after Tsitsipas converted his third set point to level the match and again urged the umpire to award a code violation to the French Open runner-up.
He then took a five-minute break, took control late in the third set, and then dropped out of the last five games when Tsitsipas was eventually given a coaching warning.
Nadal's run in the 29th Grand Slam final was relatively quiet.
After the final point, he stopped, gave a wide grin and then punched him in the air three times.
Nadal did not know how long he would last after months of touring from a serious leg injury and then a bout of COVID-19. He left Wimbledon after losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the French Open, and did not play at all after August.
"In terms of foot problems, every day has been an issue. The doubts are still here ... probably for the rest of my career," Nadal said. "But to me it's amazing ... (to) just compete and play tennis at a high level again, facing the most important players in the world."
Last month, he wasn't even sure he would be able to return to tour. But he won a tune-up tournament in Melbourne and played six straight matches at the year's first Grand Slam event.
Another he would break the record of 20 major championships shared with Roger Federer and Djokovic. Nadal will become the fourth man to win all four Grand Slam titles at least twice.
Nadal's victory over Wimbledon runner-up Berrettini under a closed roof at the Rod Laver Arena due to heavy rain was his 500th victory on hard court at Tour level.
But he has only won the Australian Open once, in 2009, and adding a second was his primary focus.
"For me, it's about the Australian Open more than anything," Nadal said in his on-court interview. "I've been a little unlucky in my career (here) with some injuries. I played some amazing finals with good chances."
He lost the classic five-set final to Djokovic at Melbourne Park in 2012 and to Federer in '17. Nadal lost to Stan Wawrinka in 2014 and Djokovic three years ago.
"I feel very lucky that I won once," he said. "I never thought of another chance in 2022."
Nadal broke Berrettini's opening service game in the first two sets, and after dropping the third set on a rare service lap, he rallied to finish the match in just under three hours. This in itself was a relief after his long quarterfinal victory over Denis Shapovalov.
Nadal was the only member of the so-called Big Three to break the impasse this time in Australia.
Federer is recovering from knee surgery. Djokovic, who won nine of his Grand Slam titles at Melbourne Park, was relegated on the eve of the tournament following an 11-day visa saga as he failed to meet Australia's strict COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
"I can't express in words how important it is to me in terms of energy, in terms of personal satisfaction, in terms of being grateful to be where I am today," Nadal said. "To me it's something completely unexpected."
He added that he is now taking a different approach to life, but not while playing.
"Of course always with the competitive spirit that I have, because I can't go against that. It's my personal DNA," he said. "But either way, I don't know, being able to be who I am and the chance to compete at this level is a positive energy for me."
After defeating Tsitsipas in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park for the second year in a row, Medvedev will have to take a calm stance. He lost to Djokovic in last year's final, but then beat the No. 1 ranked player for the US Open title.
He said he regretted his displeasure at the umpire, explaining that it was a very emotional tournament in the heat of the moment.
"I'm going to play against one of the greatest players again," Medvedev said of Sunday's final. "Again, I'm going to play someone who goes to the 21st Slam. I'm ready."