Australian Open: Novak Djokovic Retains Crown After a Slugfest with Rafael Nadal

It was the pair’s fourth meeting in a Grand Slam championship final (Djokovic leads 3-1 in those clashes after this tournament)—Nadal won the 2010 US Open final, but was beaten in the 2011 Wimbledon final and 2011 US Open earlier.

In 2011, Djokovic had defeated the Spaniard in their past six matches. Make it seven now. Novak seems to have an edge on Rafa just like the Spanish Matador has on Roger Federer.

16-14 is how the rivalry stands now in favor of Nadal still. But on recent evidence, the lead will not stay for long.

This was the longest ever Australian Open men's final, beating the previous record of 4hrs 28mins between Mats Wilander and Pat Cash in 1988.

The overall statistics looks interesting—Nadal had a higher first serve percentage, more aces but also more double faults and unforced errors. While Novak edged out Nadal in his first serve percentages, the second serve percentages were higher by almost 20 percent than his rival.

Rafa surprisingly had a higher number of net approaches than Novak—very unlike his usual game style. Nadal had the higher break point conversion percentages but the number of opportunities he received were limited—meaning the service of Novak was superior.

Let us look at how the match spanned out.

Rafael Nadal Takes the First Lead in the Final

Nadal had promised to be more attacking in this attempt to beat Djokovic and he started very much in the planned fashion.

Nadal started the match looking to attack the Djokovic forehand. There were plenty of errors from Novak, who looked like he was suffering from concentration lapses. 

Nadal won the set 7-5, looking to take an early advantage in the match. He was aggressive from the start and this proved in the result of the set.

Djokovic Claws Back into the Match with an Amazing Fight Back

Unbelievable forehands down the line and superb backhand returns from Djokovic were the highlights of the set. 

Very quickly, Novak changed his tactics to claw back in the match. He stood just a couple of feet behind the baseline while Nadal was about eight feet back. 

Using this tactic, Novak broke the Spanish serve twice while he was himself broken once. The match wore on and it was a matter of who would endure the most. 

Djokovic Speeds Through the Third Set Against Nadal

The third set was a breeze compared to the first two sets. 

Djokovic really started attacking right from the beginning of this third set. This strategy paid off very quickly.

Djokovic also returned deep, forcing Nadal onto the defensive in his serve. Nadal seemed to be flustered during this set because of the change in momentum. 

Rafael Nadal Showed His Resolve

Nadal poured every ounce of sweat, clenching every muscle, in an attempt to change the momentum that had moved towards Djokovic.

With ice cubes littered around Nadal's feet, the energy-sapping heat was taking its toll. Because of a rain intervention, the Spaniard had few moments of rest to recharge his batteries.

The rest did not help Djokovic at all—he lost the set in the tiebreak to take it to the deciding final set.

Djokovic Manages to Hold on to the Match

During the final set, Djokovic was getting a lot of free points during his service games. The Spaniard could not get a handle on the serves that the Serb was dishing out.

But, Nadal held his serve to love. This again made the Serb lose his concentration. All of a sudden, Djokovic was beginning to miss his points. 

In fact, during the latter part of the set, Novak seemed to be drained. Was it another stage-acting by the No. 1 seed? 

He managed to recoup himself and stage another rally to win the set and match.

What a wonderful match it was! A brilliant display of tennis by the top two seeds in the world. Will we have the delight many more times in the coming months? Hopefully, yes.