Nadal has traditionally started his French Open campaigns with at least one claycourt title under his belt but this year got to the French capital empty-handed.
Nadal, who would pass fellow Spaniard Andres Gimeno as the oldest Roland Garros men's singles champion if he wins, had to dig deep again in a three-hour slugfest in the semi-final against Alexander Zverev before the German was forced to retire mid-match after injuring his ankle.
The Portuguese star is set to earn $125 million before taxes in the 2021-22 season, with $70 million coming from salary and bonus after his return to United.
List of French Open men's singles champions:
'I'm not vaccinated and I'm not planning to get vaccinated so the only good news I can have is them removing the mandated green vaccine card'
Nadal fought from two sets down to defeat Medvedev in a five-set thriller at Rod Laver Arena.
Novak Djokovic has declined to disclose his vaccination status despite everyone at Melbourne Park needing to be inoculated against COVID-19.
With Nadal and Federer both skipping the tournament, Djokovic's sensational exit on Sunday after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball opened up the field for a younger cohort of players.
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