Djokovic overcomes Thiem for eighth Australian Open title
Novak Djokovic has his eighth Australian Open title and his 17th Grand Slam crown, but he has never won this way before. He has produced one-sided masterclasses and played his part in titanic tussles in his battles on the sport’s four majors stages in Melbourne, Paris, south-west London and New York.
But for the first time he produced a fightback to win a final, recovering from two sets to one down to beat Dominic Thiem 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 in a performance that underscored the grit and guile often overshadowed by his many front-running victories.
“I was on the brink of losing the match,” admitted Djokovic, who becomes the third man in the Open era to win eight singles titles at a single major, matching Federer’s tally at Wimbledon and Nadal’s 12 triumphs at Roland Garros.
“Dominic is a fantastic tennis player that plays with tremendous amount of power in his shots, especially from the forehand side. He uses his slice really well. He disrupted my rhythm in my game at one point. He was a better player. Probably one point and one shot separated us tonight. Could have gone a different way.”
The Serbian will regain the world No.1 ranking on Monday after turning around a compelling four-hour contest against Thiem, who will rise to No.4 behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. It is Djokovic’s fifth Grand Slam victory after turning 30, matching Nadal’s Open-era tally, while his 17th major closes the gap once more on the Spaniard (19) and Federer (20) in the all-time men’s singles Grand Slam titles list.
Djokovic stepped out onto Rod Laver Arena with seven previous triumphs to his name, including the straight-sets victory over Nadal in the 2019 final, but there were more than crumbs of hope for Thiem. The Austrian had won four of their last five meetings, including their last two meetings at Roland Garros, and their most recent encounter at the ATP Finals last November.
Thiem had spent almost six hours longer on court in reaching the final – 18 hours and 24 minutes, to Djokovic’s 12 hours 29 minutes – but at six years younger than Djokovic, youth was on the Austrian’s side. He did well to regain a foothold in the opening set after Djokovic began the match with a break to run out to a 4-1 lead, but a monster game at 4-5 went the way of the No.2 seed.
So far, so familiar for Djokovic. But from 4-4 in the second set, with the Serbian irked by a time violation on serve, Thiem went on a six-game tear that turned the match on its head. Djokovic called for the trainer shortly after stopping the streak and after being advised to rehydrate quickly he gradually rediscovered his A-Game as the match entered its fourth hour. Even then, he had to save a break point early in the fourth to halt the Austrian’s momentum.
“In the last two sets, I definitely gave everything I had,” Thiem said after his third successive Grand Slam final defeat, having twice lost to Nadal in Paris. “Novak is part of three guys who are by far best players ever who played tennis. If you play a Grand Slam finals against him, it's always going to be a match where very small details are deciding.
“Maybe I could have converted the break point in the fourth set where I could have the lead 2-1. Then I think he had some issues in the second set. He recovered very well. He played really good after in set three and four. Of course, there were some small mistakes here and there, but they happen. At the end was a super close five-setter. I don't really regret anything.”
From there, Djokovic turned the screw, extending the rallies and forcing Thiem to fire his increasingly errant forehand to try and blast through the Serbian’s defences. A break late in the fourth confirmed the comeback was on; another early in the fifth confirmed Djokovic’s late surge would prove decisive.
Djokovic’s celebrations were muted after the match, as he paid his respects to those across Australia who have been affected by the bush fires, as well as the victims of the helicopter crash in California that claimed the life of basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
“There were some devastating things that started 2020, with huge bushfires here in Australia, conflicts in some parts of the world, people dying every day, and one person I considered close in my life, who was a mentor to me, Kobe Bryant, passed away as well with his daughter,” said Djokovic, wearing a warm-up jacket with KB, 8, and 24 – Bryant’s jersey numbers for the LA Lakers – in black.
“I would like to say that this is a reminder to all of us that we should stick together more than ever, be with our families, stay close to the people that love you, that care about you. We are part of professional sport – we compete, and we try our best, but obviously there are more important things in life.”