There will be no asterisk alongside Rafael Nadal’s 21st Grand Slam win.
History will soon forget Novak Djokovic was turfed out of Australia before the tournament even started.
History will only remember a triumph that ranks as one of the greatest individual sporting achievements of all time.
This was not quite Tiger Woods coming back to win the 2019 Masters because Tiger had gone 11 years without a Major.
The magnificent Nadal has only failed to win a Grand Slam in three of the past 18 years.
But it was the same mentality. A long spell out of the game with a chronic injury issue, age closing in on the net, the odds stacked against him, doubts about whether he would be able to return to the Tour.
That was the big picture. Inside the big picture was the in-play crisis.
The 2-6, 6-7, 2-3 (0-40) crisis.
He could have thrown in the towel. The bookmakers had. At that point, they had Nadal down as a 25-1 shot … in a two-horse race.
But, of course, defying odds is the speciality of truly brilliant sportsmen and women. As Tiger is testament to. As Rafa is testament to.
“I can lose, he can win … but I can’t give up.”
Nadal said this after beating Daniil Medvedev but it has been the motto of his career - a tennis career in which he has now established himself as the Greatest Of All Time.
And it is very possible that the title will not be taken away from him for a long, long time, if ever.
Because if he is fit to play, it is hard to see him not winning the French Open. That will put him 22-20 ahead of Djokovic and Roger Federer in the GOAT race.
Of course, Djokovic, stubborn genius that he is, could yet win a few more Slams, if he is allowed into them.
But he is going to have to get past Nadal, a competitor who defines the concept of never giving up, an athlete who embodies the perfect blend of mental and physical strength, a player of simply immense talent.
And if you really do want to put an asterisk next to this triumph, then it can only signify one thing.
Rafael Nadal, GOAT.
