MELBOURNE, Australia – Perhaps, perhaps, he thought, Novak Djokovic would be a little more susceptible to trouble this time at the Australian Open.
After all, he broke an abdominal muscle in the third round and wasn’t sure he could continue to compete. Entering Sunday, Djokovic yielded five sets to the tournament, the most he left on the road to a grand final. And to top it all off, he faced Daniil Medvedev, owner of a 20-game winning streak.
Yes, yes. We are talking about Djokovic in Melbourne Park, where his domain is certainly intact: nine finals, nine championships. In addition, he continues to win with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the Grand Slam standings, which now reaches 18 overall, two shy of the men’s record shared by his rivals.
Djokovic used improved service, along with his relentless return and grassroots excellence to grab 11 of 13 games in a stretch and beat Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 for a third. consecutive Australian Open trophy.
“Definitely, emotionally, the most challenging Grand Slam I’ve ever had, with everything that was going on: injuries, things out of court, quarantine,” Djokovic said. “A Roller Coaster Ride.”
When the match was over in less than two hours, Djokovic stepped aside, lifted his white shirt and pulled out pieces of beige athletic tape from his stomach.
“I was very worried,” Djokovic said of the injury. “I didn’t really (really) think I could really play. I didn’t know it until two hours before the fourth round match. “
Faced with what he called “bearable” pain, Djokovic improved to a combined 18-0 semi-final and final on Melbourne’s hard courts.
“It’s probably not the 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 until March 8. That will give him 311 weeks there, breaking another Federer mark.
His goals are now in the Grand Slams, even more so than before.
Put Djokovic’s nine wins in Australia and five at Wimbledon, three at the American Open and one at the French Open. The math looks good to him: he’s about a year younger than Nadal and 6 1/2 less than Federer.
“I enjoy success more and more,” Djokovic said, “because I know that the more time passes, the harder it will be.”
Medvedev’s No. 4 appeared in his second Slam final; was runner-up for Christmas at the 2019 US Open.
The 25-year-old from Russia had won 12 in a row against the top 10 opponents, but trying to solve Djokovic in Australia is a unique challenge.
“It’s very good (in) reading a rival’s game,” Medvedev said, “knowing what you’re going to do next, how to win.”
When things slipped away, Medvedev blew up the white racket from the blue runway and then absolutely destroyed it with a full spike. He kept looking up at his coach with his palms up as if to ask, “What can I do here?”
It’s a familiar feeling at this stage: Federer, Nadal, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem, all Grand Slam champions, all defeated by Djokovic in the semi-finals or finals in Melbourne.
On a cool, cloudy night, an event was delayed three weeks due to the coronavirus pandemic closed with an announced attendance of 7,426 at Rod Laver Arena. Spectators were banned five days earlier in the tournament due to a blockade of COVID-19, but were eventually allowed to enter with 50% capacity.
“There’s a lot of mixed feelings about what’s happened in the last month or so with tennis players coming to Australia,” Djokovic said. “But I think when we drew a line at the end, it was a successful tournament for the organizers.”
And for him.
Medvedev’s close-up, which wrapped the racket around his neck, was dubious at first, missing on the net, long and long on the net in the first ten minutes. Djokovic grabbed 13 of the game’s 16 starting points and quickly advanced 3-0. Soon enough, though, it was 3-all, then 5-all.
But that was when Djokovic stepped up and Medvedev took a step back. Djokovic fell in love and then broke up to claim the set when Medvedev helped the net just after someone in the crowd shouted during the point.
Djokovic started the second set with a free kick on the net, then shook his left arm and flexed his shoulders. That point ended with the lack of a setback on the net, and he looked at his guest box. Another setback gave Medvedev a break.
But the extreme experience gap was shown there. Medvedev immediately resigned from his next two service games. In all, Djokovic broke seven times and made just 17 unforced errors in Medvedev’s 30.
“Masterpiece,” said Goran Ivanisevic, the 2001 Wimbledon champion who is one of Djokovic’s coaches.
Medvedev appeared to have a small opening at 4-2 in the third, reaching 15-30 in Djokovic’s serve with a first-hand winner and making a gesture to the crowd to make noise. As if he saw it as a personal insult, Djokovic grabbed the next three points and the match, then pointed his right index finger at his temple and gritted his teeth.
It was soon over.
“When I come to Australia, it always brings me that extra dose of confidence,” Djokovic said, “because of my history here and the way I play.”