WORLD NO. 1 NOVAK DJOKOVIC won a historic ninth Australian Open title on Sunday at Melbourne Park, becoming just the second player in history to lift nine trophies at one Grand Slam championship.
Djokovic produced a tennis masterclass while obliterating Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2. The Serbian all time great returned with pace and precision and won 89 per cent of net points (16/18) to join 13-time Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal as only the second man to win nine or more titles at the same Grand Slam event.
Djokovic also closed the gap on 20-time major titlists Nadal and Roger Federer at the top of the Grand Slam titles leaderboard with his 18th major trophy.
“When you’re a young tennis player, I think 99.9 per cent of players, kids that get a racquet in their hands, start dreaming about what they want to achieve [and] it’s a Grand Slam, winning a major,” Djokovic said. “Of course I tried to remind myself, pinch myself, of how important this is. Even though I have been fortunate to win many majors and play in many major finals in my life, I do enjoy the success every single time even more.”
“Everyone talks about the new generation coming and taking over us, but realistically that isn’t happening still,” Djokovic told Eurosport. “We can talk about it all day but with all my respect to the other guys, they still have a lot of work to do. I’m not going to stand here and hand it over to them. I’m going to make them work their ass off for that.”
Djokovic snapped Medvedev’s 20-match winning run in emphatic fashion on Rod Laver Arena. The 33-year-old, who improved to 18-0 in semi-final and final clashes at the Australian Open, also gained revenge for his 6-3, 6-3 loss to the Russian at last year’s Nitto ATP Finals. Djokovic now owns a 5-3 ATP Head2Head advantage against Medvedev.
“On the court, Daniil is one of the toughest players I have ever faced in my life. It’s only a matter of time before you hold a Grand Slam trophy,” said Djokovic, in the trophy ceremony. “If you can wait a few more years, I’d appreciate it. It’s amazing that he has put together a 20-match winning streak over the past few months.”
“I think it was a very successful tournament and I’d like to praise [tournament director] Craig Tiley for a tremendous effort,” said Djokovic. “It was challenging on many different levels and Tennis Australia should be very proud for making it possible.”
With this ninth Australian Open title added to his trophy cabinet, Djokovic has equalled Nadal’s Open Era record of six Grand Slam title runs after turning 30. The World No. 1 turned 30 in May 2017 and has since won major championship crowns at the Australian Open (2019-’21), Wimbledon (2018-’19) and the US Open (2018).
