Novak shows just why big three are still out in front

NOVAK DJOKOVIC’S genius showed itself in the key moments of the Australian Open final — he was able to lock in his game when he needed it most. Until the upcoming generation start matching him in that department you can expect the established champions to keep cleaning up at the biggest tournaments.

Daniil Medvedev was right in the match late in the first set and then got a break early in the second. Both times, you saw that Djokovic was able to summon up his best, most solid tennis while his opponent went in the opposite direction.

It was a mental and tactical masterclass from the Serb and the younger challengers just do not have that maturity right now.

Djokovic did not want to get sucked into long rallies from the baseline, so he took the initiative and was aggressive from the start. It messed up Medvedev’s rhythm and the result was a more one-sided victory than predicted.

The battle between the three greatest players to accumulate the most Grand Slams continues. Now Djokovic is within two of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the nine-times Australia champion is moving up and poised to overtake them.

At 33 he is a year younger than Nadal and six Federer’s junior, which is significant. My view is that Federer is still capable of winning Wimbledon and that Nadal is still the favourite for the French Open.

Yet, as I mentioned in this column two weeks ago, Melbourne is the key for Novak in setting up his whole year, psychologically as much as anything. If he had not won it, the blow would have been massive after what happened at the US and French Opens.

Not that I think the younger generation are without hope — and there was definitely some vulnerability in Nadal, if we think forward to Paris.

His five-set defeat by Stefanos Tsitsipas in Australia will sting for some time and could even be a factor at the French Open. For the first time I can recall, Rafa looked really tired in that fifth set. He was beaten physically and the others will have seen that.

The Spaniard’s style is so physical that it is going to take its toll. I am actually surprised that he has played to this incredibly high level for so long.

While it would be foolish to bet against him for Paris, when Nadal does get that little step slower he will not be the same player.

The players you would expect to eventually knock these stars off the top are most obviously Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Tsitsipas and Alex Zverev. I would also include Andrey Rublev.

Although it did not show in yesterday’s final, I still like Medvedev’s attitude the best of these challengers. In terms of talent and natural power, Zverev is the leader for me. He was the better player for much of his quarter-final against Djokovic but lost concentration when it mattered.

We come back to the issue of seizing the moment. Djokovic’s ability to do that again and again is why he is so extraordinary.