Maria Sharapova congratulates Rafael Nadal on his 21st Grand Slam

Maria Sharapova has congratulated Rafael Nadal on his landmark achievement of 21 Grand Slam titles. The Russian took to Instagram to laud the World No. 5.

The Spaniard rewrote the history books on Sunday with his victory over World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the final of the 2022 Australian Open. The 2-6, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, 7-5 win meant that Nadal became the sole leader in the Slam race for the first time in his career, ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic who have 20 Majors each.

The Mallorcan could not hold back his emotions after the historic win and raced to celebrate with his team the moment the championship was secured. One of the fixtures in his player's box was his father Sebastian Nadal, who had made the journey all the way from Spain to witness his son creating history.

Photos of the father-son duo locked in an emotional embrace went viral on social media and was posted by the Australian Open's official handle on Instagram.

"Proud Papa 🥲" the post was captioned.

Maria Sharapova shared the post on her Instagram story and congratulated the Spaniard on his incredible comeback victory.

"A picture worth a thousand words. Congratulations, Rafa!" Sharapova wrote.

Screen grab from Maria Sharapova's Instagram story

Rafael Nadal won his second Australian Open after a 13-year wait

13 years have passed between the former World No.1's first and second Australian Open titles

The title triumph at the 2022 Australian Open saw Rafael Nadal lift the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup for only the second time in his career. The former World No. 1 had come close on four occasions since winning it for the first time 13 years ago.

9-time winner Novak Djokovic thwarted his attempts in 2012 and 2019, defeating him in both finals. In 2017, it was Roger Federer who prevented the Spaniard from taking the glory. The 2014 edition saw Stan Wawrinka pull off a major upset, defeating the No. 1 seed in the final to win his first Grand Slam title.

The lack of a second Australian Open was the only trophy preventing the Mallorcan from completing the Double Career Slam, a record he has now achieved. The 21-time Grand Slam champion is the second man in the Open Era to do so, following Djokovic who achieved the feat at the 2021 French Open.

The emphatic conquest at Melbourne Park also marked the 35-year-old's sixth Grand Slam on hardcourts, not bad for someone regarded as a "claycourt specialist".