Australian Open: Novak Djokovic - A new level of dominance
With his smooth three-set victory against Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open 2019, Novak Djokovic has once again left his mark on the tennis world.
by Jörg Allmeroth
last edit: Jan 27, 2019, 02:40 pm
It was a game, an evening that took the concept of dominance to a new level. And it was a record victory for Novak Djokovic that will be remembered for this reason alone: because he, the tennis titanium, outclassed a rival in the hour of his historic seventh triumph in Melbourne, who in the two weeks of the tournament himself was able to beat every opponent at will had outclassed. Another dimension of tennis, as Rafael Nadal's Australian Open tennis has been described so far - but then what was what Djokovic showed on January 27, over two hours and six minutes of a slightly surreal 6: 3, 6: 2, 6: 3 success. In any case, he stood there like a single superlative on two legs, the king of this tournament, the number one player on the planet, the now 15-time Grand Slam champion. "It's been an amazing moment, this trip in the past twelve months," said the overwhelmed Serb.
His wild roller coaster trip from the dominator of the industry to the crisis djoker and back, so to speak with a return ticket, reached the last way station on the other end of the world - at a summit, unattainable for any other competitor, including Nadal, the beefy bullfighter of the industry . But the Mallorcan never came to fight or bite into this ultimate duel of the 2019 Australian Open. Without exaggeration and without cynicism, he was just the extra in this big Djokovic show, an often astonished viewer of this one-way tennis in the wrong direction. “It was incredible how Novak played here. I was without any chance, ”said Nadal, the world ranking second, the man who should be the closest to Djokovic's neck on paper.
Nadal has been driven from the start
Big games, memorable games, fantastically controversial games had been delivered by Djokovic and Nadal in the past. But there has never been a Grand Slam cup match between the Serbs and the Spaniards that showed such a striking superiority of one of the two main actors. And that was so completely next to the expectations and timescale, even half an hour shorter than the women's final. It was nothing short of Djokovic's perfection, a match in that famous “zone”, in a state of mind in which even the most difficult exams can be passed with confidence. And it was a nightmare for Nadal, who found himself from the first to the last minute in the role of the hunted and driven - against a "Djoker", who added up just nine slight mistakes in the whole match. "You can't play any better on a hard court," noted Djokovic's former coach Boris Becker, "you can only bow down there."
One thing was certain: the moment Djokovic dropped to his knees after the match point and then kissed the floor of the Laver Arena, he had also made an extraordinary comeback within the past twelve months. A year ago he had said goodbye to Melbourne with a knockout round of 16 and then had an elbow operation. Little ran together in his tennis world, the doubts were "considerable," said the 31-year-old himself, "the doubts about getting back to the front."
Djokovic for McEnroe Grand Slam contender
It wasn't until he called his old trainer and companion Marijan Vajda and other alumni back to his team Nole that things started to slowly but surely rise again in spring 2018. What would follow by the end of January 2019, no one in his troop, but also none of his opponents, would have expected: Three Grand Slam victories in a row (Wimbledon, New York, Melbourne), the new jump to 1st place and a playful class and self-assurance with which he literally pulverized the rest of the field. "In this form, he can win all major titles this season, even in Paris, at the French Open," said America's former superstar John McEnroe.
Ivan Lendl, Alexander Zverev's coach, was the master of ceremonies at the victory celebration on Melbourne's Center Court. It was a somewhat strange sight, after all, Zverev had beaten the world number one Djokovic in the final at the World Cup in London. But Zverev and the others, the very young, the middle ages, the 30-year-olds and also a giant like Nadal, all of them now disappeared behind the larger-than-life player stature of Djokovic. Grand Slams are just another world, another challenge, Djokovic and the other few tennis gentlemen from the elite area have had a firm grip on them for a decade and a half. But even the other grandmasters, whether Nadal or Federer, are locked when Djokovic plays like they do at this Australian Open. He has now won 15 major titles and is in 3rd place behind Federer and Nadal, but now ahead of Pete Sampras. And Djokovic doesn't look like he's getting tired so quickly - on the contrary.