Peerless world number one Novak Djokovic demolished Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to win his ninth Australian Open title and extend his record-breaking reign at Melbourne Park yesterday.
Djokovic overpowered the fourth seed 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in front of 7,400 fans on Rod Laver Arena to end the Russian’s unbeaten run at 20 matches.
In winning a third-straight Australian Open for the second time, the Serb claimed his 18th Grand Slam title to move within two of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who have 20 each, while denying Medvedev his first.
Rarely has a player been so dominant at a single tournament, with the Serb’s record-extending ninth title moving him past Federer’s eight at Wimbledon, but still some way behind the 13 Nadal has won at Roland Garros.
But it was a roller-coaster ride to get there, with Djokovic dropping five sets en route to the final and battling an abdominal tear that nearly forced him to pull out after the third round.
Despite admitting it was a gamble to keep playing, with a risk the injury could get worse and affect the rest of his season, the 33-year-old chose to continue and it paid off.
He said, though, that the problem was “not healed” and he planned to take time off with no tournament commitments locked in after Australia.
Source-BBC
