Australian Open: Novak Djokovic triumphant in epic final to beat them all

The Serbian cemented his place at the head of men’s tennis yesterday with an epic 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 triumph, achieved in five hours and 53 minutes, making it the longest grand slam final in history and the longest match ever at this tournament.

It also maintained his domination over Nadal – he has won their past seven meetings – and made him just the fifth man to win three successive grand slam crowns following his victories last year at Wimbledon and the US Open.

It was a truly remarkable match which swung one way and then another and gradually developed into a test of endurance as much as skill.

In the end, Djokovic edged it, falling to the floor in celebration before ripping off his shirt.

“Wimbledon is right up there because it was the tournament I always wanted to win, but this comes out on top because we played for almost six hours. It was incredible,” he said.

“It was the longest grand slam final of all time. Just hearing that fact makes me cry. I am very proud to be a part of history, to be among the elite group of players who have won this trophy several times.

“I had a lot of chances to win it in four sets, but he deserved to prolong it and then really both of us could have won the match. It could have gone either way.”

Nadal claimed the first set after a second break handed him a 5-4 lead which he consolidated, only for Djokovic to up his game markedly in the second.

His booming forehand was starting to land and a break for 3-1 meant he was in position to serve for the set at 5-3, only to falter. Nadal broke back, but then immediately surrendered his serve tamely, a double fault handing Djokovic the game and the second set.

The feeling that the match was turning Djokovic’s way strengthened at the start of the third as he continued to bully his opponent, who was relying on errors for points. He broke for 3-1 and again at 5-2 with Nadal seemingly on the wane.

But the Spaniard is made of stern stuff and he started the fourth with renewed purpose, in particular on the forehand side.

He had to see off three break points to make it 4-4 as Djokovic threatened once more, before the rain which had been forecast finally arrived, forcing the players to take a short break while the roof on Rod Laver Arena was closed.

It went to a tie-break which ebbed and flowed with Nadal hitting back from 5-3 down to claim a set point at 6-5 and he clinched it when Djokovic put a forehand into the tramlines.

It was rapidly turning into a classic.

Both men had worked hard to get to the final – Djokovic requiring four hours and 50 minutes to get past Andy Murray and Nadal three hours and 42 minutes to see off old foe Roger Federer.

Crucially, though, Nadal’s match had taken place 24 hours earlier and in the early stages of the fifth the Spaniard seemed to have a greater spring in his step.

And so it proved as he claimed the first break of the decider to move 4-2 up as Djokovic sent a cross-court forehand long. But the match swiftly took another turn, Nadal missing a routine backhand at 30-15 with Djokovic subsequently breaking back straight away to get it back on serve.

The sheer physical effort required by both players was evident in the first point of the ninth game when a 31-shot rally ended with Djokovic sending a backhand long before dropping to the floor in exhaustion.

But the Serbian rallied for one last physical effort, capitalising on a tired sliced backhand from Nadal to break for 6-5.

Inevitably, Nadal was not done and he had a break point himself with Djokovic serving for the match.

By now, though, there were no more miracles left and, having staved off the danger, Djokovic set up a match point which he took with a winning forehand to complete an astonishing victory.

And so at 1:37am on Rod Laver Arena, the 24-year-old Djokovic joined Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Nadal – four greats of the sport – as the only men who have won three consecutive majors since the Open Era began in 1968. And Nadal was his vanquished opponent in all three.

“It was obvious on the court for everybody who has watched the match that both of us, physically, took the last drop of energy that we had from our bodies,” Djokovic said. “We made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn’t be two winners.”

As the players waited for the trophy presentation, Nadal leaned on the net, while Djokovic sat on his haunches. Eventually, a nearby official took pity and they were given chairs and a bottle of water each.

Nadal held his composure during the formalities, and even opened his speech with a lighthearted one-liner.

“Good morning, everybody,” he said, noting that the tournament had entered a third week.

The 73-year-old Laver was among the 15,000-strong crowd who had seen the players walk on to court at 7.30pm. Almost six hours later, Djokovic was tearing off his sweat-soaked black shirt and heading toward his supporters in the players’ box, pumping his arms repeatedly as he roared. It was raw emotion he couldn’t contain. He walked over to his girlfriend, his coach and the rest of his support team and banged on the advertising signs at the side of the court.

“I think it was just the matter of maybe luck in some moments and the matter of wanting this more than maybe the other player in certain points,” Djokovic said. “It’s just incredible effort. You’re in pain, you’re suffering. You’re trying to activate your legs. You’re going through so much suffering your toes are bleeding. Everything is just outrageous, but you’re still enjoying that pain.”