Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal (6-3, 6-2, 6-3)
What was expected to be another classic hardly turned out to be one.
Novak Djokovic was at his fiery best on the hard court of Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, and not even the in-form Rafael Nadal could do anything to stop him from claiming his record-breaking seventh Australian Open title.
Nadal, who didn’t drop a set entering the final, failed to get even one against the world no.1. There’s a reason why Djokovic has six titles in Australia heading to the 2019 decider and why Rafa has only one, and that was evident with the Djoker’s dominant victory.
Highlights of the game
Right from the opening frame, it was already clear who has the advantage. While the pre-match Australian Open 2019 odds at SBOBET had Nadal putting up some fight, that was never the case.
Djokovic started off hot and never looked back, making easy work of Nadal who struggled with plenty of unforced errors. The Spaniard also had no answer to the Serb’s brilliant court-coverage and aggressive baseline game.
The 31-year-old top seed jumped to a 3-0 lead in the opening set, benefitting from a number of strange errors from Nadal. The Djoker showed exceptional serving at the start and won the first game to love, with Nadal showing no response.
That was a recurring theme in the following games, and Djokovic peaked on the fifth game when he sent two aces down to pull away for good. Djokovic closed out the set after 36 minutes, winning 16 straight service points in the process and dropping just one point on serve.
Nadal appeared to be enduring a problem, as he looked out of sorts and a step closer than usual. And that was evident in the second set when Djokovic continued to control proceedings.
The 32-year-old Spain international thought he had his game back, winning two of the first three games of the second set for a 1-2 lead. However, that was all the fight he could muster before reverting back and allowing Djokovic to take the lead.
Nadal’s timing was off, and it didn’t help that he was against the best returner in tennis. Djokovic won five straight points to go two sets up.
The third frame was a bit closer and more intense, especially with Nadal fighting for his survival. Nonetheless, it was all in vain as Djokovic’s service and return games were both on point.
BREAKING: World no.1 Novak Djokovic wins against Rafael Nadal (6-3, 6-2, 6-3) to seal his 7th #AusOpen title. pic.twitter.com/1mjRSaKdjp
— SBOBET (@SBOBET) January 27, 2019
Nadal managed to stay within touching distance at 4-3, but Djokovic tightened things up in the following game and held to his serve after sending a volley that clips the tape of the net and barely made it over.
At match point, Djokovic got two championship points at 15-40 behind three devastating forehands. While he wasted the first one with a poor backhand, he was able to get the job done in the following sequence when Nadal sent a backhand long and wide.
Key statistics
Nadal showed massive improvement with his service game in the past two weeks, but it was still no match to Djokovic’s court coverage.
Rafa just made three aces and won just 55 percent of his service points. In contrast, Djokovic had eight aces and dominated on serve by winning 81 percent of his service points.
The most alarming difference between the two, however, is the number of unforced errors. As mentioned, Nadal had plenty of strange mistakes since the start, and it bugged him throughout as he finished with 28 unforced errors—a big difference to Djokovic’s nine.
Nadal struggled with his forehand, as it accounted for 15 of his errors.
Moreover, Djokovic fired a total of 34 winners while Nadal only hit 21.
With the victory, Djokovic is now the winningest male player in Australian Open history with seven titles, surpassing Roy Emerson and Roger Federer’s haul of six each in the Land Down Under.
The latest Australian Open 2019 results also mean that Djokovic bagged his third major title in a row, having won the last two slams of 2018 in Wimbledon and in the United States. He now has 15 titles, two behind Nadal and five behind Federer.
Interestingly, the defeat marks the first time that Nadal lost a slam final in straight sets.
What’s next?
The next big event in the ATP Tour is the battle for the Sunshine Double in Indian Wells and Miami in March.
Both are Masters 1000 events, so there’s a lot to play for Djokovic and Rafa in those tournaments. Both players will be keen to prepare for the clay court season, and playing consistently on tour should help them stay healthy.
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