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Melbourne, January 27
An imperious Novak Djokovic won a record seventh Australian Open title by routing Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-3 here today with a display of flawless tennis. The Serbian world No. 1 dominated the Spanish second seed to win his 15th Grand Slam title in just 2 hours and 4 minutes. It put Djokovic, 31, ahead of Roger Federer and Roy Emerson, who have won six Australian Open titles each.
Djokovic dropped to the court and kissed the ground after vanquishing his greatest rival. No two men have met more often in the Open Era, this was their 53rd meeting, and no pair has pushed one another harder or further. Their only previous final in Australia, in 2012, developed into a record-breaking 5hr 53min slugfest — the longest in Grand Slam history.
No epic fight this time
A repeat of that epic never materialised with Nadal uncharacteristically nervous at the start and Djokovic taking immediate advantage. The Spaniard had not had his service broken since the third set of his first round match but that streak ended in a flash as the Serb came sprinting out of the blocks.
Djokovic was in imperious control on his own delivery and won his first four service games without conceding a single point, even inducing Nadal to miss a forehand completely on the way to grabbing the set in 36 minutes.
The second set followed a similar pattern, with Djokovic racing through games on his own serve, while Nadal struggled to hold. The pressure told in the fifth game and Djokovic broke again when Nadal hit a lob volley long after an exchange at the net.
Djokovic had only conceded two points on serve in the entire match to this point but Nadal had his first sniff at breaking when he got to 30-15 ahead and deuce, twice. Djokovic had to withstand pressure for the first time in the match, overcoming the threat with a roar and a fist pump to go 4-2 ahead.
The on-song Serb was so fired up that he came straight out and broke Nadal again to go to 5-2 before serving out for a two-set lead with three aces in a row with just 1 hour 16 minutes on the clock.
The statistics were as telling as the scoreline: Djokovic had served eight aces to Nadal's one and made just four unforced errors while the Spaniard had coughed up 20. When Djokovic broke again in the third game of the third set, it was just a matter of how quickly he would finish off Nadal.
Swift end
The end was swift, as Djokovic withstood one break point at 3-2 before administering the last rites in a flurry of winners off both wings. Victory extended his win-loss record against Nadal to 28-25 and squared the Grand Slam final count between the pair at 4-4.
He will go to Paris in May for the French Open, seeking to become the only man in the Open Era to win all four Majors twice. — AFP
Speechless!
I'm just trying to contemplate on the journey in the last 12 months. I had the surgery exactly 12 months ago. To be standing now here in front of you today and managing to win this title and three out of four Slams, this is amazing. I am speechless.
My best against Rafa
It's one of the best, if not the best, matches I've played in a Grand Slam final. It's quite unreal we are still playing at this level and still competing for the biggest titles in sport and it's just an amazing evening. Under the circumstances, maybe this is the best quality tennis I have played against Rafa in a final.
Super Nole
Djokovic has a superior head-to-head record against both Federer and Nadal, who are touted to be GOAT
Djokovic vs Nadal
28-25
Last 5: Djokovic leads 3-2
Djokovic vs Federer
25-22
Last 5: Djokovic leads 4-1
Nadal vs Federer
23 - 15
Last 5: Federer leads 5-0
Djokovic was unbeatable today
"Of course, he played, I think, fantastic. At the same time it's true that when he's playing that way, I think I needed something else. I was not able to have that extra thing tonight, being honest. When he was hitting, it's true that maybe it was difficult to beat him even if I was at my 100 percent (level). But probably it would have been a little bit more of a fight"
Need time to beat him
"I can't be sad. It would not be fair to be sad. I played against a player that today was better than me. What I need is time, I need work and I need more weeks like this one. That's really the only thing that I hope, is to have the chance to keep practising well and to have the chance to keep playing with healthy conditions" Rafael Nadal
Top 4
Federer 20 | Nadal 17 | Djokovic 15 | Sampras 14
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