Photo: Paul ZimmerNovak Djokovic (SRB)
Novak Djokovic was crowned Australian Open champion for the third time on Sunday after he battled past Rafael Nadal 57 64 62 67(5) 75 in what must go down as one of the greatest finals in Grand Slam history.
The best two players in the world went toe-to-toe for 5 hours 53 minutes, the longest ever match at the Australian Open, in what was an enthralling clash of the highest quality. It’s easy to forget that less than 48 hours earlier Djokovic was on the same court in a similar tussle with Andy Murray, and then here he was again showing just why he has become the dominant force in men’s tennis.
Djokovic defeated Nadal six times out of six in 2011, so it was important that the Spaniard got off to a good start in this final if he was to have a chance of redressing the balance, and that’s exactly what he did. They both exchanged breaks in the first set before Nadal broke decisively for a second time at 5-5. He held in the next game on his third set point to draw first blood.
Djokovic quickly regrouped, however, and raced into a 5-2 lead in the second set. Nadal held after staving off a set point, then Djokovic wasted two more chances in the next game on his own serve as the left-hander started to find his range once more. At 4-5, and with the momentum swinging in his favour, Nadal threw away all his good work by gifting Djokovic a break with a double fault on the Serb’s fourth set point.
Djokovic carried the impetus into the third set and won it quickly, and as the match neared its conclusion, so too the stakes were rising. Any mistakes from Nadal at this stage could have proved terminal. At 4-3 up in the fourth, Djokovic had Nadal at 0-40 and it looked like he was on the brink of glory, but the ten-time Grand Slam champion never knows when he’s beaten and roared back to win five straight points. An untimely rain shower then caused a short delay and when play resumed, with the roof closed, Nadal held his nerve to force a decider after a tight tiebreak.
The fifth set saw both players have the chance to clinch the title. Nadal will have nightmares about missing an easy backhand pass when he was serving at 4-2 30-15 and was firmly in control. He pushed it wide when the open court was gaping and Djokovic capitalised to break back. Djokovic forged ahead with a further break at 5-5, and he finally prevailed on his first championship point with a forehand winner in the next game.
"I'm playing against one of the greatest players ever,” Djokovic said. “The player that is so mentally strong, and he always comes up with his best game and best shots at the right moments. So I tried mentally to hang in there, to hold my composure, to hold my emotions. And, you know, even when I was 4-2 down I still pushed myself up to the limit.
“To be able to mentally hang in there and physically – it was obvious on the court for everybody who has watched the match that both of us, physically, we took the last drop of energy that we had from our bodies. I think it was just the matter of maybe luck in some moments and matter of, you know, wanting this more than maybe other player in the certain point. It's just incredible effort.”
In the mixed doubles final, which was played inside Rod Laver Arena earlier in the day, USA's Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Romania's Horia Tecau defeated Russia's Elena Vesnina and India's Leander Paes 63 57 [10-3]. As a junior, Tecau benefitted from support of the Grand Slam® Development Fund, having been a member of two ITF/Grand Slam Junior Touring Teams in 1999.
Follow all the action on the official website: AustralianOpen.com