Australian Open: Vladimir Putin congratulates Nadal after Medvedev win

The Kremlin has offered its congratulations to Rafa Nadal following his extraordinary comeback at the Australian Open, where the Spaniard defeated Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 to lift the title at Melbourne Park and become the first male player in the history of the game to win 21 Grand Slams, moving ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the all-time stakes after the Serbian was deported from Australia before the tournament.

“Medvedev is our star but that is why sport is something so fantastic, because there can only be one winner and it has to be the strongest player. As such, we congratulate Nadal,” said Dmitri Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s presidential spokesman, in the Kremlin’s daily press conference.

Peskov added that Medvedev and Nadal had given tennis fans a memorable game: “Five hours of tennis excellence, of sporting excellence.”

Nadal's historic comeback

Medvedev appeared to be in the driving seat when he went two sets up against Nadal and started the third strongly, but Nadal mounted an epic comeback to become the first player in the open era to come from two sets down to claim the title in Melbourne.

The Russian, who is ranked second in the world behind Djokovic, won his first Grand Slam at the US Open last year by defeating the Serb to deny him a calendar year slam and a 21^st major victory.