Rafael Nadal is chasing a record 21st Grand Slam crown in Sunday’s Australian Open final but Daniil Medvedev is once again ready to act as the spoiler.
The Russian world No 2 upset Novak Djokovic in last year’s US Open final to prevent the Serbian’s calendar Grand Slam bid and scuppered his attempt to move ahead of Nadal and Roger Federer on the all-time list of men’s major winners.
Apart from the 21st major title, Nadal is on Sunday also bidding to become only the fourth man to win each of the four Grand Slams twice.
At 35 will be the third oldest man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title, behind Ken Rosewall and Federer.
“For me at the end it’s about more than all these statistics, it’s about being in the final of the Australian Open one more time. That means a lot to me,” Nadal said.
“To me it’s more important to be in the final and fight to win another Australian Open than the rest of the statistics for the history of the sport.
“I am facing my most difficult rival of the whole tournament in the final.”
