Novak Djokovic has become an Australian Open grand-slam champion once again.
The Serbian smashed Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-2 6-2 in the final to claim an astonishing ninth title at Melbourne Park.
Medvedev was capitulating in the third set. He went down an early break, but trying to speed up the play only made matters worse for the Russian as he looked like heading for a complete meltdown.
Aggressive Play
Djokovic surged to a 4-1 lead then maintained the rage to secure a memorable win.
Djokovic didn’t look pleased after being broken in the opening game of the second set. He was gesturing angrily to his entourage and at the change of ends, bent down and remained hunched over, almost looking like he wanted to bury his head in his bag.
But he bounced back and broke Medvedev for 1-1, starting to resemble a brick wall as he made the 25-year-old work for every point.
Play was stopped mid-point with Medvedev up 30-15 on serve at 1-2 in the set as a spectator started yelling out from the stands as part of a protest. Djokovic was upset, but the demonstrator was quickly ejected by security.
As Djokovic went ahead 40-30, he asked the umpire to tell the crowd to remain quiet while the point was being played, putting his finger to his lips. The official passed the message on and it worked for Novak, who broke Medvedev for a 3-1 lead.
Different Strategy From Djokovic
World No. 1 looks like was trying to keep the points short – either because he’s worried about his abdominal injury or because he thinks his chances of winning will be reduced if Medvedev participates in long rallies. In any case it was a different strategy from Djokovic, who is usually so comfortable grinding down his opponents from the baseline.
The Russian was doing the job, however, rolling through games on his own racquet as the set progressed to 5-5.
The game was moving fast as Djokovic faced three resting places to steal the set. Medvedev saved two of them but the Serbian came on in the closing minute to close the opening game 7-5.
The match was rollicking along at breakneck speed as Djokovic faced three break points to steal the set. Medvedev saved two of them but the Serbian came through in a clutch moment to seal the opener 7-5.
Medvedev Speaks
Medvedev, who has dropped just two sets so far, said that despite having all the momentum he will go into the final as the underdog.
“He’s the favourite because he didn’t lose. On eight occasions that he was here in the semis he won the tournament,” said the 25-year-old.
“Me, I’m … the challenger, the guy that challenges the guy who was eight times in the final and won eight times. And I’m happy about it.
“I know that to beat him you need to just show your best tennis, be at your best physically maybe four or five hours, and be at your best mentally maybe for five hours.”
Medvedev, who also reached the 2019 US Open final, losing to Nadal, has the weapons to trouble Djokovic, with a big serve, unrelenting returns and exceptional movement as he targets a maiden grand slam title.
Twelve of his 20 straight wins have been against top-10 players and he has won three of his last four against the 17-time grand slam-winning Serbian.
“Playing Novak seven times already is just a huge experience,” he said. “(But) I think when he’s in the zone he doesn’t miss. He goes down the line, cross, forehand, backhand, he doesn’t miss. That’s what is the toughest part of playing against him.”
