Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal to win his 7th Australian Open Men’s Singles title at Melbourne today. The resurgent world No.1 outplayed the second-ranked Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a largely one-sided match. With this, Djokovic has surpassed American legend Pete Sampras to elevate himself to outright third on the all-time Grand Slam title leaderboard.
"It was truly a perfect match." –@DjokerNole
How the Serbian put together the performance of a lifetime hitting only nine unforced errors all match: https://t.co/W5guuD7luQ#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/v5BGsqOxMS
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2019
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) January 27, 2019
Seven-time major champion Mats Wilander described what he just witnessed as absolute perfection.
All-time great Rod Laver took his praise a step further, deeming Novak Djokovic’s game strong enough to emulate his calendar Grand Slam.
The Serb’s demolition of Rafael Nadal to win an unprecedented seventh Australian Open crown on Sunday night gives credence to both men’s declarations.
Novak Djokovic produced one of his greatest ever performances to be crowned AO 2019 champion.
“It ranks right at the top,” Djokovic said as he compared it to his 14 prior Grand Slam triumphs.
“Under the circumstances, playing against Nadal, such an important match, it’s amazing.
“Obviously back-to-back semifinal and final, I think I made 15 unforced errors in total in two matches. It’s quite pleasantly surprising to myself, even though I always believe I can play this way.
“At this level, as I said, under the circumstances, it was truly a perfect match.”
Djokovic’s 15th major saw him pass Pete Sampras for third on the all-time men’s list
Departing Melbourne Park last January, underdone and nursing an elbow injury that required surgery immediately after, Djokovic would have thought it implausible the position to which he would have returned 12 months on.
Would he have believed he would stand one major triumph from holding all four Grand Slams at once for the second time in his career?
“Not impossible, but highly unlikely,” Djokovic said.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but I always believe in myself. I think that’s probably the biggest secret of my success, if I can say, or probably any other athlete, is self-belief, always digging deep in the moments when you’re facing adversity, digging those moments of complimenting yourself, visualising yourself as a winner, trying to be in a positive state of mind.
“It’s much easier said than done, obviously.”
An injury-marred exit to Hyeon Chung on Rod Laver Arena 12 months ago was not the most shattering Grand Slam defeat of the season. That came in June, in the Roland Garros quarterfinals where world No.72 Marco Cecchinato sprung the boilover against a confidence-depleted Djokovic.
It was unfathomable to conceive the unbeaten slam streak he was about to commence when he suggested he may skip the entire grass-court swing.
Introspective, in light of his 6-3 6-2 6-3 triumph over Nadal, Djokovic admitted there were grave uncertainties about whether his surgery would even succeed and whether he would rediscover his lofty standing in the game.