Here’s how the world’s newspapers covered Rafael Nadal’s historic victory over Daniil Medvedev.
“When someone tells you something is impossible, think about Rafa,” the front page of sports newspaper Marca said on Monday.
“The best ever,” was the headline on AS next to a photo of a smiling Rafa holding the trophy, surrounded by pictures of his other 20 Grand Slams titles.
“The biggest among the biggest,” said the front page of EL PAIS, Spain’s most popular paper, while French sports paper L’Equipe described Rafa as “The martian”.
























Source: Reuters
Just thankful Rafa gratitude for made my day 🙏❤️❤️❤️👏👏👏👑 Thank You Champ
21 grand slam do forgive the spelling mistakes vamos rafa xx
Every paper oh wow congratulations rafa on the 31 grand slam 👏 vamos rafa
After a miracle comeback no surprise media love him even more now!
The amazing thing about Rafa is that he always seems to come from behind when winning a grand slam in nail biting finishes. This must be his greatest victory and he deserves the accolades that he is receiving. Well done Rafa. At this rate GS 22 is a distinct possibility at the French Open. 🏆🍾🚴♂️
So now the world has discovered what we have always known. Savour this moment with those who truly matter. Hope you have begun to recuperate from that massive physical and mental effort. You
gave everything, and the toll is enormous. Thank you for all the sacrifices you have made. It was truly a breathtaking final; I confess that it was difficult to watch those moments when the serves were
deserting you. But you were constantly thinking, constantly solving. Like a miracle, you kept fighting, and the adrenaline kicked in. Somehow you cracked the Medvedev puzzle. That smile of victory is forever embedded in our brain-Rafa-one for the ages❤️🔥❤️❤️🔥
Isabel Lee..I had to replay that smile over & over again! It was a different smile then all his other wins! It was like he was elated & in disbelief all at the same time! He kept shaking his head like ge couldn’t believe that he pulled it off! I know all his trophies are special but this one may just be a tad sweeter then all the rest! Against all odds Rafa prevailed!
What an accomplishment, Rafa is such a warrior, an a gentleman his family raise him well.
Rafa has made most of the UK front pages today.
He is news all over the world and justifiably so. The only continent where I can’t find an article about his win is Antarctica. Surely there has to be a scientist there who is a tennis fan?
he
Amazing tournament congratulations Rafa vamosssssss champ 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥👏👏👏👏👏👏🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🙏💪🥰💯💯💯💯💯💯
“PUTIN SURRENDERS TO NADAL” is the headline from blazetrends.com.
“The Kremlin today congratulated the Spanish Rafa Nadal for his victory in the final of the Australian Open against the Russian Daniil Medvedev (2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4 and 7-5)which allowed him to become the first tennis player in history to win twenty-one Grand Slams.
“Medvedev is our star, but that’s why sport is a fantastic thing, because there can only be one winner and he has to be the strongest. So congratulations to Nadal.” said Dmitri Peskov, a presidential spokesman, at his daily press conference.”
I sure hope both Barclay, the journalist, and Peskov received permission to print the above.
I am slightly bemused to see from the selection of front pages that Putin is referred to in the French press as “poutine”, which I thought was some sort of cheesy chips popular in New Orleans!
LOL I laughed when I read that “poutine” comment because there is a word in Spanish and Italian very similar to it but not connected to any kind of chips.
Putaine? Yes, I know that word too!!
and French
Hello Margo! How did you fare through another of Rafa’s nail-bitting nerve shattering Battle Royales? I was really worried about all his sweating being that he had heatstroke during his match with Denis (The Menace)! He did seem to be very sudue. I won’t lie but had to turn the channel a few times to take a breather but just knew Rafa was going to be the winner! How nice for Putin to congratulate Rafa …it was hard to even find anything about the AO on our news as the Rams & 49ers were playing for a spot in the Super Bowl! Well Margo I guess for now we can take a rest form tennis…I don’t know what’s next for Rafa but I do hope he plays Indian Wells…it’s very close & the only time I get to see him in person! Take good care & as always Vamos Rafa!
Ziggy, thanks for asking because I had to mentally tell so many pundits that “they were wrong” and to “shut up.”
Deep down I felt that Rafa was not going to go down in SS.
It was very strange because when he lost the first 2 sets I was quite calm. I was thinking about all of his comments before the final about how happy he was just to be playing. And not giving a ratz arse about any roof [that I was worried about]. To me, this was a different Rafa. A free Rafa who was not burdened with his “….fear of losing.”
When he won the 3rd set my heart and brain knew he was going to win. There were times during the 4th and 5th sets that I was screaming like a lunatic. But he still had gas in the tank and extra points [match points?]. When Rafa played his winning point I yelled “TAKE THAT YOU JERKS!” Then I started laughing.
I thought that Daniil was faking his whatever when he called for the physio only because earlier in the tournament he asked himself what would ND do.
Rafa may have seemed subdued so as not to waste energy. Obviously he didn’t know how long his match would last so he was stingy on celebrating his win points. Is that what you meant by “subdued?”
He and his team most likely took additional precautions to fight against the humidity and heat. I was concerned for him too but Carlos said Rafa was fine the day after he beat Berrettini.
As far as his calendar is concerned, Rafa said he will wait a week to see how he is feeling and make a decision when to play next after consulting with his team. As of now he is scheduled next to play Acapulco.
CORRECTION: Shapovalov NOT Berrettini. That was a relatively easy one.
We will never forget this match. Just amazing.
Rafa, I will remember, appreciate and savor your win forever. This was one your most important career wins for many reasons if not THE most important win. Certainly the most emotional after the 2020 french open
Vamos Rafa you are the bestest CONGRATULATIONS
Amazing tournament, thank you Rafa!🙏❤️
And an AMAZING RAFA. When he was two sets down I said there is no way Rafa is “gonna go down like this.” Despite all the naysayers, Rafa’s peeps said “it ain’t over.” And it wasn’t. He made a lot of errors to be sure but when it counted he prevailed. You would slap me if you knew how smug I felt, and still feel. LOL
Take that all you knuckleheads who wrote Rafa off even before his match was finished. They must be feeling pretty foolish now.
Rafa said he’s got plenty of energy to continue. I hope he has a helluva 2022.
ROCK ON RAFA
Hi Margo, absolutely!
Hahaha
I am so excited to hear Rafa said that…looking forward to the French Open and Wimbledon hoping to cheer for him in person.🤞☺️
Mimi, are we looking at a possible calendar-year Grand Slam?
Mimi, in person? Give him a gigantic fist pump from me. Tell him I would be there but crowds freak me out. Tell him how happy I was when he held up Norman. Tell him New Yorkers love him. Ask him when his updated bio is coming out. I will send you more questions for Rafa, later. 😂🤣🤔😉