5 milestones Rafael Nadal could achieve at the 2022 Australian Open

Rafael Nadal made a successful comeback to competitive tennis by winning the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set last week. The Spaniard appears to be finding his best form leading up to the Australian Open, which begins on 17 January.

The stakes are high for Nadal at the first Slam of the season. The Spaniard could break quite a few records and achieve plenty of career milestones over the course of the fortnight at Melbourne Park.

On that note, here are five milestones Nadal could achieve at the 2022 Australian Open.

#1 First male player to win 21 Grand Slam titles

Rafael Nadal at the 2019 US Open.

Roger Federer became the first player to win 20 Grand Slam titles when he lifted the trophy at the 2018 Australian Open. Nadal tied Federer's record by winning the 2020 French Open. He had two opportunities last year to win his 21st Grand Slam title. However, he lost in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to Stefanos Tsitsipas and in the semifinals of the French Open to Novak Djokovic.

Meanwhile, the Serb gained ground on his two rivals by winning three out of the four Slams last year. Djokovic triumphed at the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon to join Federer and Nadal at the top of the Grand Slam leaderboard.

Now Nadal has another opportunity to become the first male player to win 21 Grand Slam titles. He has reached the Australian Open final twice in the last five editions of the tournament, while losing in the quarterfinals on the remaining three occasions. His only triumph at Melbourne Park was in 2009.

#2 Second player in Open Era to complete double Career Slam

Of his 20 Grand Slam titles, only one was won at the Australian Open.

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam Nadal has won just once, in 2009. He has won Wimbledon twice, the US Open four times and the French Open 13 times. If he's crowned champion at Melbourne Park this year, he would become the second player in the Open Era to achieve the double Career Slam -- winning all four Grand Slam titles twice.

Djokovic was the first to do so when he won the French Open last year. Roy Emerson has also achieved the feat, but prior to the Open Era. Rod Laver also features on the list, but he did so only once during the Open Era.

#3 15th season with at least one Grand Slam title

He won his 20th Grand Slam title at the 2020 French Open.

So far Nadal has won at least one Grand Slam title in 14 separate seasons on the ATP tour. He won at least one Major every year for 10 consecutive seasons from 2005 to 2014. The Spaniard then embarked on another streak from 2017-2020.

If he wins the 2022 Australian Open, it'll be the 15th season in which he has won a Grand Slam title. Federer and Djokovic, on the other hand, have won a Grand Slam title in 11 different seasons.

#4 90th career title

Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set.

Nadal won his 89th career title at the Melbourne Summer Set last week after defeating Maxime Cressy in the final. The Spaniard won the tournament without losing a set all week, serving notice of intentions ahead of the Australian Open.

If he wins the upcoming Slam, it'll mark his 90th career title. Only Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl have won more titles than Nadal in the Open Era.

#5 Sixth Australian Open final, breaking a tie with Andy Murray and Stefan Edberg

The Spaniard lost to Djokovic in his previous Australian Open appearance.

Rafael Nadal has reached five finals at the Australian Open, which puts him in a third-place tie with Stefan Edberg and Andy Murray. If he reaches the title round this year, he'll take sole ownership of third spot with six finals.

The Spaniard has reached 13 finals at the French Open, and five each at Wimbledon and the US Open, so reaching a sixth Australian Open title clash would make it his second-most successful Slam in terms of final appearances.

With quite a few records on the line for the Mallorcan, the upcoming Australian Open is shaping up to be quite an important one.

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Also check out: Updated ATP Men's Tennis Rankings