Novak Djokovic is and remains the king of the Australian Open: In a surprisingly one-sided final, he beat challenger Daniil Medvedev 7: 5, 6: 2 and 6: 2 and was crowned champion of Melbourne for the ninth time. SPOX summarizes the findings of the endgame.
For the Djoker it was a particularly sweet triumph after turbulent weeks, which he owed above all to a very special weapon. Medvedev’s performance sums up the dilemma of the coming tennis generation – and then there’s the race for the Grand Slam record.
1. Djokovic’s 9th Australian Open triumph was a special one
Stefanos Tsitsipas had unwittingly given the direction for the final after his semi-final against Medvedev. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Daniil wins the tournament,” said the Greek after being played off in three sets by his rival. “But it’s funny: I played Rafa here two years ago. His performance against me back then was phenomenal. I was 100 percent sure that he would win the tournament. But I was wrong.”
In fact, like Nadal, Medvedev had stormed through his half of the draw in 2019. Many experts saw him as at least equal, with a winning streak of 20 matches and the success over Djokovic at the ATP Finals in the back. And like Nadal 2019, who was also dealt with in three sentences at the time, the Russian had no chance in the end.
Now the titles of Djokers Down Under are no longer a surprise, and especially in retrospect, the inclined observer is offered a “It was clear that Djokovic wins” with a little yawn. See Nadal at the French Open. However, this fails to recognize that the Serb can look back on turbulent weeks. The ninth title, it was anything but a sure-fire success – with the exception of the final.
“Emotionally it was one of the toughest tournaments ever,” admitted Djokovic after defeating Medvedev, and used the word “roller coaster ride” in several interviews. Not only because of the quarantine in advance, although the Djoker and a few other top stars had admittedly got off quite well.
The media – not to mention his favorite enemy Nick Kyrgios – pounced on Djokovic Down Under and accused him of making demands, despite the tough lockdown in the country, to make life even easier for the pampered tennis stars.
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The letter I wrote contained ideas and recommendations that I had received from other players,” he defended himself on Sunday. “It was misinterpreted as if I had made demands.” Suddenly he was promoted to “Persona non grata” in Australia, where he often received loud support from the ranks due to the large Serbian community.
Djokovic wins despite injury: “
The criticism was sometimes unfair”
The n there was the abdominal muscle injury in the 3rd round against the American Taylor Fritz, which was eyed suspiciously by the public. Had the Djoker, who admittedly sometimes tends to be a drama queen on the court, played up the injury? “It’s a torn muscle,” he said. “
The MRI showed that. Ask the doctors and physios.” On his days off, he spent ten of the 14 waking hours on the treatment couch in order to be able to play despite the injury. “In my eyes, the criticism was sometimes unfair,” he said, and announced a documentary towards the end of the year with unprecedented insights.
The re is hardly a world-class athlete on this planet who can handle “I alone against the whole world” scenarios as well as Novak Djokovic, who almost always plays his best tennis with his back to the wall. And you certainly don’t have to look at it as martially as Goran Ivanisevic:
The Croat from Nole’s coaching team pondered at the press conference after the final that “there is someone up there who can see exactly what the media and everyone else are doing to him” .
Nevertheless, there is no doubt that this triumph tasted particularly sweet for the Djoker, given the difficult omens – and given the dangerous opponent. “He’s the King of Melbourne,” Medvedev had to admit, “even if I don’t like that expression. But what can I say?”
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Findings Australian Open victory Novak Djokovic tennis cyborg roller coaster ride
