Rafa Nadal has become the best tennis player in history after winning his 21st Grand Slam, after beating Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open with a historic comeback. With this triumph he also takes a succulent economic pinch: 2,778,449 euros. This is the money that the tournament awards to the winner of the first grand of the season.
The prizes of the Australian Open have increased by 4.5% compared to the last edition where the winner, in that case Novak Djokovic, took 2.27 million euros. If in 2021 a total of 44.82 million euros were distributed, in 2022 that figure has risen to 47,354,358 euros (75 million Australian dollars).
Thus, the man from Manacor has won the highest prize in the history of an Australian Open that is surpassed every year and distributes greater cash prizes. For his part, the finalist, Medvedev, has pocketed 1,389,270 euros, which is not bad at all. Rafa has fought tooth and nail to take the jackpot and in the end the effort got the deserved reward. He lost the first two sets, but recovered and turned it around.
It is the second final that the number two in the world has lost on these tracks, since he lost to Djokovic last year and now to Nadal. What Nadal has achieved has much merit, that his presence in Australia was even considered, even the Covid put his participation in the Grand Slam in check.
Finally, he decided to follow the advice of his team and go to the ATP 250 in Melbourne, prior to the Australian Open , to prepare for the event. It is not usual to see him in tournaments of this category, but the lack of pace made it essential to go if he wanted to compete in the first big of the year. He won without disheveled in the final against Maxime Cressy. That made him arrive in better conditions at an appointment marked in red on the calendar.
The draw for the Australian Open draw saw him meet Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals and Djokovic in the semifinals. The path to the title was difficult and full of obstacles, but little by little it cleared up. First the Serbian fell, who was deported from Australia for not having been vaccinated, and then the German fell with Shapovalov in the round of 16. Nadal faced the Canadian in the quarterfinals where he overcame stomach problems to reach the semifinals.
That was already a prize for him, but Rafa Nadal was not satisfied with that, he went for it all and defeated Berrettini to get into his 29th Grand Slam final, almost nothing. For reaching the semifinals he pocketed 694,530 euros, while if he had fallen in the quarterfinals he would take 378,834. Now the pinch is seven times greater than if he had fallen two rounds ago.
Although it seems that he is not at his best, he always recovers and gets back up stronger. Everything seemed to indicate that the Russian would take the battle in the final of the Australian Open after winning the first two sets, but Nadal never gave up and came back to put an end to his curse in Melbourne Park.
