Novak Djokovic outplayed Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open to win his 18th Grand Slam title.
The world No 1 was superior in all aspects of the match as he went on to win 7-5, 6-2, 6,2 in just one hour and 53 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
The Serbian’s victory extends his record to a total of nine titles at Melbourne Park and moves him within just two major wins of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal with the most Grand Slam titles in history.
Coming into the match Djokovic had spent over four more hours on court than Medvedev and had injury worries due to an abdominal tear in the third round, yet none of this was evident as he maintained his one-hundred percent record in the final of the tournament.
During the presentation ceremony the Serbian spoke about how important his physio Ulises Badio and his team were to helping him get through the tournament: ‘It has been a roller-coaster ride for me especially in the in the last couple of weeks.
‘A special thanks to Uli, who has dedicated so much time to make sure that I can play and I am eternally grateful to him and the rest of the team for all of their support and energy.’
Djokovic raced into a 3-0 lead after a nervy start from Medvedev, who was competing in a Grand Slam final for just the second time in his career.
Yet, the Russian fought back and won the break back with the help of a 28-shot rally and a failed overhead from Djokovic to level the match at 3-3.
The opening set went with serve from then until 6-5 where a few loose first serves from Medvedev allowed the world no.1 three set points, which he converted at the third attempt when the Russian netted to lose the first set.
A trade of breaks opened the second set before Djokovic put daylight between him and Medvedev by securing another two breaks to take a two-set lead.
The world No 4 seemed rattled and could not regain his composure as his opponent, a serial winner, sprinted to the finishing line with yet another break of serve at the first opportunity in the third set.
It was fitting of the match for Djokovic to close the final out with yet another break of service as he dominated Medvedev’s serve for the entirety of the match – winning seven of the 14 service games from the Russian to end his 20-match unbeaten streak in emphatic fashion.
The successful campaign for Djokovic guaranteed he will hit another milestone in his career by becoming the player with the most weeks at the top of the men’s game, overtaking Federer on March 8, 2021 with a combined 311 weeks as the world No 1.
Medvedev has some cause for celebration despite the defeat as his run to the final means he will rise to a career-high ranking of world No 3, leapfrogging Dominic Thiem.
The focus for both players will now move to the clay-court season with the French Open up next in terms of Grand Slams.
The pair will be looking to topple the dominance of Nadal at Roland Garros, as he attempts to be the stand-alone player at the top of the charts with 21 Grand Slam titles.
