Novak Djokovic defeated Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open finals and won his eighth title here in Melbourne. The final result of this fantastic contest was 3-2 for Novak, who made a stunning comeback after being behind before the fourth set. And not only that, the Serbian player was looking pretty bad on the court of Rod Laver Arena.
The result by the sets was 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
“Tonight it was a toe-to-toe battle,” the Joker told one of the reporters following the game. “I was on the brink of losing that match. I didn’t feel great.”
And it really was like that. After winning the first set, in which he played better than his rival, Djokovic deflated in the second. But it wasn’t all his fault. The chair umpire Damien Dumusois penalized the Serb twice because of the time violation between the points.
Djokovic was frustrated with such a scenario because the second time he got the penalty, Thiem was handed a break-point, and the Austrian took the lead at 5-4. He would easily confirm that with his confident serve, tying the result.
“Congratulation, you’ve made yourself famous, good job,” Djokovic was telling the judge.
This situation disrupted Novak’s focus, and he spent the entire third set wandering around the court, getting smashed by Thiem, who played possibly the best tennis of his career in those moments.
Everything he wanted happened, and in no time, he rolled over Novak, who was in a knockdown.
But, Djokovic showed why he is arguably the best tennis player of all time. Just one moment of Thiem’s negligence cost the Austrian the fourth set and not only that, but also a momentum which he had up until that point.
“I didn’t have any injuries, but my energy just completely collapsed. Every time I would toss a ball, I would feel dizzy. I was lucky. From 2-2 in the fourth, I started to feel better,” said the champion.
Djokovic quickly caught the positive wave, and broke the rival’s serve in the third game of the final set, eventually preserving that edge all the way until the finish.
With this victory, Novak became immortal, and only the third player in history with eight trophies at one Grand Slam tournament. Apart from the Serb, only Nadal and Federer did that, the first at Roland Garros and the later at Wimbledon.
Also, Novak increased his advantage over Roger and Roy Emerson when looking only at the Australian Open. He has 8 titles, two more than the other two legends.
As for Dominic, this was his third Grand Slam finals, and he is still without a win.
I just feel a lot of emptiness right now, but I know the feeling. I did after the last two in Paris, but also already now I feel little bit of motivation to come back for the next Grand Slam,” he explained, but promised afterward to come back even stronger and hungrier for some success.
Novak will regain his No.1 place on the ATP list already since this Monday.
