Djokovic guts out win
Novak Djokovic survives five sets for eighth Australian Open title.
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic was looking weary and worn down. He felt dizzy and trailed Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open men’s final — miscues mounting, deficit growing.
Djokovic did what he does, though. He refused to lose, waited for a chance to pounce and found his best tennis when absolutely necessary. Even threw in a wrinkle, serve-and-volleying twice when facing break point.
Regaining his stamina and strokes, and showing some gutsy creativity, Djokovic came back to edge Thiem, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, Sunday for an eighth Australian Open title, second in a row, and 17th Grand Slam trophy overall.
“I was on the brink of losing the match. Dominic ... disrupted my rhythm in my game at one point. He was a better player,” Djokovic said. “Probably one point — and one shot — separated us tonight.”
Nonetheless, Djokovic improved his record in semifinals and finals at Melbourne
Park to 16-0 and assured himself of returning to No. 1 in the rankings, replacing Rafael Nadal.
No other man in the history of tennis has won this hard-court tournament more than six times. Only Roger Federer, with 20, and Nadal, with 19, have won more men’s Grand Slam singles trophies than Djokovic.
“Amazing achievement. Unreal what you’re doing throughout all these years,” said fifth-seeded Thiem, who is 0-3 in major finals. “You and also two other guys, I think you brought men’s tennis to a complete new level.”
Both finalists spoke about the devastating wildfires that have killed dozens of people and millions of animals around Australia. Djokovic also mentioned the recent deaths of NBA star Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianni in a helicopter crash.
Addressing Thiem, Djokovic said: “I am sure you will definitely get one of the Grand Slam trophies. More than one.”
A little more than six months after saving two championship points against Federer en route to winning a five-set Wimbledon final, Djokovic again showed that he can’t ever be counted out, coming back from two-sets-to-one behind in a Grand Slam title match for the first time.
It didn’t come easily for the 32-year-old from Serbia. He lost six games in a row in one stretch to Thiem, who plays a similar baseline game and eliminated Nadal in the quarterfinals.
It was a physical test offering plenty of entertaining exchanges, with 61 points lasting at least nine shots apiece.
“Very demanding,” Thiem said.