Novak Djokovic of Serbia cemented his position atop men’s tennis with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 win over his longtime rival Rafael Nadal at the Australian Open on Sunday.
Djokovic not only became the first man to win the title here seven times, but he also won a third consecutive Grand Slam championship, a stunning turn of events considering his struggles at this tournament just a year ago.
Djokovic’s 15 major victories put him two behind Nadal and five behind Roger Federer, whose 20 Grand Slam titles are the singles record for male players.
Sunday’s duel was a reprise of Nadal and Djokovic’s 2012 final here — a5-hour 53-minute marathon won by Djokovic. That match, the longest Grand Slam final ever, is regarded as one of the best and most grueling in tennis history.
But the top-seeded Djokovic won this one with remarkable ease, in 2 hours 4 minutes.
Djokovic and the second-seeded Nadal had cruised into the final. Nadal, 32 and displaying some of his finest and most aggressive hardcourt form, had won each of his matches without losing a set.
Djokovic, 31, looked equally strong, particularly in a semifinal win over Lucas Pouille of France in which he made just five unforced errors. He had only nine Sunday.
The rivals have now faced off 53 times, with Djokovic holding a 28-25 lead. They have met in eight major finals, each winning four times.
Despite the enduring quality of their rivalry, they had not met in the last match of a major since Nadal beat Djokovic to win the 2014 French Open.
Two years later, after Djokovic won the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam, his game began to slip, partly because of an elbow injury. He suffered a string of shocking upsets at major tournaments, including at last season’s Australian Open, where he lost to the unseeded Hyeon Chung of South Korea in the fourth round.
But after elbow surgery, Djokovic began to rediscover his form. He won Wimbledon in July and then the United States Open in September. He ended the year ranked No. 1.
“I had the surgery exactly 12 months ago,” Djokovic said Sunday after the match. “And to be standing now here in front of you today, and managing to win this title and three out of four Slams is truly amazing. I’m speechless.”
The Australian Open was Nadal’s first competition in four months. After a leg injury forced him to retire from his U.S. Open semifinal against Juan Martín del Potro, he had ankle surgery in Spain, his home country, took a break from the tour and then withdrew from an Australian Open tuneup event because of a strained thigh.
“Even if tonight was not my night, for me it’s so important to be where I am today again, coming back from injury,” Nadal said in his postmatch remarks. “I really believe that I played a great two weeks of tennis. That’s going to be a good energy, good inspiration for myself for what’s coming.”
Djokovic’s chance to hold all four major titles at the same time will come in four months at the French Open, which he has won only once (Nadal has been the champion at Roland Garros 11 times). He has claimed four Grand Slam championships in a row before, winning Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2015 followed by the Australian and French Opens in 2016.
Source: BBC
BDST: 1831 HRS, JAN 27, 2019
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