Novak Djokovic created history tonight by becoming the first player to ever win the Australian Open for 7 times. He now has 15 Grand Slam titles in total and is only 5 away from Roger Federer's 20. I have a feeling that Nole will soon surpass Federer and become the best player that tennis ever witnessed. To be honest, after tonight, I would say that Djokovic proved to be the best ever hard court player in history. The way he dominated Nadal, who was also playing some wonderful tennis before the final, was spectacular and even a little scary. As for Nadal, he should not worry for too long as clay season is starting soon and I have a feeling that Rafa will get his revenge.
The Final
There is very little to analyze because Novak Djokovic dominated from the first second of the match and left Nadal speechless. In fact, I have never seen Nadal so outplayed in any final. I guess the fact that it was the first time that Nadal lost the Grand Slam final in straight sets explains it all.
Djokovic started the match by winning 12 out of first 13 points and got an early 3:0 lead. Even though Nadal started playing a little better after that, it was obvious that he was not ready for the challenge, especially not against Djokovic in his best form. As for Djokovic, he was brilliant both at serving and returning tonight. For example, Nole only lost one point on his serve in the first set against Nadal, who is not a bad returner. That is crazy stats. All match felt as if it was played between players from different leagues. What did happen to Nadal?
Djokovic is one of the best returners that tennis has ever seen so it's not a surprise that Nadal's serves (even improved ones) created no problem for Nole. On top of that, Nole's returns were way closer to the line compared to other players that Nadal had to play. That created a lot of problems for Nadal as he could not select shots and get good positions. If that was not terrible enough, Djokovic made almost no unforced errors, meaning that Nadal had to start taking more risks. And the worst part of the match was to see Nadal guessing Djokovic's first serves instead of trying to react. That only proves that Nadal was totally lost on the court and felt that Djokovic was serving too good.
Looking back at the final now, it is very hard to say if Nadal played a bad match or Djokovic was simply too good for anyone to beat in such form. I mean, what else could Nadal do against Djokovic's consistent power hits on the line? Even though I expect a little more from Rafa, I don't think that he will be upset about the outcome of the match for too long as he has to prepare for clay season where things might change drastically.
The only question that bugs me is if anyone from the past could defeat Djokovic on hard court when he is at his best form. I have a feeling that the answer is no because confident Nole is simply not a human being.
Today's match ended 6:3 6:2 6:4 in Djokovic's favor. I have a feeling that people won't remember this match as they do remember 2012 AO final but we should remember one thing - 2019 AO should be remembered as one of the greatest tournaments for a single player ever. After all, you won't see Nadal losing without a single chance to stay in the match too often. You won't also see someone losing only 13 games in the semi-final and final too often. And Djokovic did all that. He was unbelievable when it mattered the most and he deserved his 3rd Grand Slam title in a row.
What the future holds?
Both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal look fit and ready to play their best tennis this season which is always great news, especially after learning about Murray earlier this month. I have a feeling that no one is ready to challenge those 2 legends this year as Federer is getting old, while young guys are just too inexperienced and mentally unprepared. That leaves us with many more clashes between Nole and Rafa. They faced each other for the 53rd time (28 wins for Nole and 25 for Rafa) tonight and I expect at least 5 more this year. To be honest, I cannot wait for the Roland Garros. It will be one of the most awaited tournaments for years because people will want to see Novak Djokovic trying to defeat the king of clay and win his 4th Grand Slam in a row.
If Novak Djokovic manages to defeat Nadal in the RG (he is capable with his current form) he will then have to go on and win other 2 Grand Slam titles this year. Is it possible? Judging from what I have seen in the last couple of weeks, I would say yes. However, the season will be long and it is yet too early to predict. That said, I would take the odds for Djokovic to win all 3 upcoming Grand Slams this year. Talking about the long term, I am pretty sure that Nole will surpass Federer in the most Grand Slams won. At the moment, Federer remains with 20 while Djokovic is getting closer with 15. Also, we have Nadal sitting with 17 but I don't think that he will finish the career as the guy with most Grand Slams ever. I believe that he might reach 20 at some point but Djokovic will get more, mainly because there are 2 Slams played on the hard court each year compared to one on clay.
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