MELBOURNE, Australia – Probably, just maybe, it was thought, Novak Djokovic just as a father would be more likely to be upset this time at the Australian Open.
After all, he moved his midsection at a slump in the third round and said he tore a muscle. Entering Sunday, Djokovic has already held five sets in the tournament, the most he has ever allowed on his way to a major final. And it was against Daniil Medvedev, owner of a 20-game winning streak.
Yeah, right. We are talking about Djokovic at Melbourne Park, where his leadership is certainly complete – nine finals, nine tournaments. In addition, he still beats Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in a Grand Slam stand, now up to 18 in total, two shy of the men ‘s roster that these rivals share.
Djokovic used superb service, the usual non-stop return and baseline excellence to capture 11 of 13 games in one piece and beat Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 for the third Australian Open cup in a row.
When the match ended after less than two hours, Djokovic fell on his back on the court. After welcoming Medvedev, Djokovic went to the side, picked up his white shirt and peeled pieces of beige athletic tape all over her abdomen.
“It’s been a roller-coaster ride for me, especially in the last few weeks,” Djokovic said, snatching his cash prize in his left arm.
He gave a “special thank you” to his personal trainer, Ulises Badio, for helping him get through and improve to 18-0 together in semifinals and finals on Melbourne’s hard courts.
“Maybe not your last one,” Medvedev said. “I have no words to say.”
Djokovic, a 33-year-old from Serbia, has won six of the last 10 majors and will remain at No. 1 in the rankings at least through March 8. That will give him 311 weeks in the top spot, another signal breaker held by Federer.
Medvedev No. 4 featured in the second final of a Grand Slam; he was runner-up to Nadal at the 2019 U.S. Open.
“He’s definitely one of the strongest players I’ve ever had in my life,” Djokovic said. “It’s a matter of time before you’re going to hold a Grand Slam, that’s for sure. “
And then he mocked Medvedev, a 25-year-old Russian who hasn’t lost anyone since October: “If you don’t mind waiting a few more years …”
Medvedev had won his last 12 appearances against members of the Top 10, but going up against Djokovic in Australia is a very different challenge.
As things went, Medvedev kicked his white racket off the blue court, then completely destroyed it with a full spike. He kept looking up at his coach with palms up as if to ask, “What can I do here?”
He is an expert on this stadium: Federer, Nadal, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem – all Grand Slam champions, all lost by Djokovic in semifinals or finals in Melbourne.
So combine Djokovic’s nine trophies in Australia along with five at Wimbledon, three at the US Open and one at the French Open.
The math looks good for him. He is about a year younger than Nadal and 6 1/2 younger than Federer, who is 40 in August and has not competed in more than a year after two knee work.
On a cool, cloudy afternoon, an event was delayed by three weeks because the pandemic closed the coronav disease with a reported presence of 7,426. Spectators were banned for five days earlier in the competition due to COVID-19 lockout, but were eventually admitted at 50% capacity.
“There are a lot of mixed feelings about what has happened in the last month with tennis players coming to Australia,” said Djokovic. “But I think when we draw a line at the end , that it was a successful competition for the organizers. “
And for him.
Medvedev’s flat-faced, wrap-the-racket-around-his-neck iffy at first, missed wide, long and into the net in the original 10 minutes. Djokovic grabbed 13 of the game’s first 16 points and a quick 3-0 lead. Soon enough, however, it was 3-all, then 5-all.
But that’s when Djokovic stood up, and Medvedev stepped back. Djokovic kept a close eye on him, then broke to claim the set when Medvedev put the upper hand into the net just after someone in the crowd called out through the point.
Djokovic started the second set with a fault into the net, then shook his left arm and stretched his shoulders. That point came to an end as he lost a backhand into the net, and made a cry at his guest box. Another Medvedev brought back a foul with a net.
But the real knowledge gap there. Medvedev resigned his next two games of service. In total, Djokovic broke seven times, scored 73% of points when his first service entered, and made only 17 non-critical errors to 30 at Medvedev.
Medvedev appeared to have a small opening at 4-2 in the third, getting to 15-30 on Djokovic’s service with a pre-winner and shielding the crowd to make a sound. As if looking at that as a personal complaint, Djokovic took the next three points and the game, then pointed his index finger right to his temple and cut teeth.
He was soon finished at Djokovic’s place
“I would like to thank this court. I would like to thank Rod Laver Arena,” he said to conclude the awards ceremony. “I love you every year, more and more.”