'Truly a perfect match': Djokovic in seventh heaven at Australian Open

MELBOURNE—The year is 2049. Rafael Nadal is 63 years old. Novak Djokovic is 62. They encounter one another at an idyllic spot along the Mediterranean.

“This is heaven,” says Djokovic.

“Heaven, yes,” says Nadal, “but if you have heaven, you must also have hell.”

Djokovic gives a slight grimace. “Hell?” he asks. “I’ll tell you what hell is. Hell is losing three times in the finals of Roland Garros, including twice to you. I only won that tournament once.”

Nadal raises an eyebrow. “Worse yet,” he says, “worse yet is four times losing the Australian Open final, also twice to you. I too only won that tournament once. Roger called it ‘The Happy Slam,’ but there were a lot of unhappy Sunday nights for me.”

“Better yet, Rafa, let us return to heaven. You say ‘merci’ and I’ll say, ‘G’day.’”

Just as members of the one percent compare private jet services, one suspects that tennis’ greats have their thoughts on the various majors where they fared better than just about anyone else, but frequently came up short. Roger Federer has lost four French Open finals; Bjorn Borg lost four US Open final; Ivan Lendl lost two Wimbledon finals.

Then there is heaven. Roland Garros is the place for Nadal. And as Djokovic proved emphatically Sunday evening, Melbourne Park is home, sweet home. In two hours and four minutes—half the length many anticipated—Djokovic beat Nadal, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3. Djokovic hit 34 winners and made only nine unforced errors.

Never before had Nadal lost a major final in straight sets.

“He was better than me tonight,” said Nadal. “That's the sport. We can talk a lot, but when the player did almost everything better than you, you can't complain much. The only thing that you can say is congrats to the opponent, well done.”

Having earned his seventh Australian Open title, Djokovic snapped a tie with Federer and Roy Emerson for the most men’s singles wins at this event. As Djokovic made his way into the player area, accompanied by the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, he spoke with a quartet of iconic Aussies who’d won titles in the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s—Emerson, Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver, Frank Sedgman.

“Mr. Emerson said he's pissed with me because I broke his record,” joked Djokovic. “It was the most beautiful, most expensive photo of the night, without a doubt, standing with those four legends. Yeah, I mean, I'll definitely cherish that forever.”

Three nights ago, a pulverized Stefanos Tsitsipas had praised Nadal’s aptitude for making opponents play poorly. Mostly, that is true, which means for anyone to beat Nadal, they must play their very best, a high compliment Nadal might appreciate, but also lament.

An opponent in the zone has been the case every time Nadal has lost a final here: Djokovic in their 2012 marathon; Stan Wawrinka’s maiden Slam win in 2014; Federer’s resurgence of 2017, and now, a dazzling Djokovic.

“I don’t say I have been destroyed,” said Nadal. “I have been playing against a player that was at the highest level possible.”

Djokovic smothered Nadal with movement, balance and a crisp game plan that involved peppering the Nadal forehand and persistently striking the ball early, hard and deep.

“Coming off from the blocks and trying to be aggressive and protect the line and make him feel pressure from my side, obviously that was the game plan,” Djokovic said.

The statistics showed that Nadal had made 28 unforced errors. But the case can be made that, save for the obvious missed sitter, there really is no such a thing as an unforced error, as tennis is not played in a vacuum.

“I make more mistakes because he pushed more,” said Nadal. Then, rare in a press conference, Nadal snapped his fingers to simulate Djokovic’s tempo. “But the things started so quick. He was pushing me to every ball. What on other days have been a serve and a ball that I can have in offensive position, today have been in defensive position.”

Seven years ago, these two had played a match here nearly three times longer than what had transpired tonight. Since that early Monday morning in Melbourne, save for a few bursts from Federer and Andy Murray, Nadal and Djokovic have held dominion over the world No. 1 ranking.

But the path has hardly been easy, linear, or pain-free. Over the years, Djokovic and Federer have each had down periods, caused by injuries, that in turn trigger introspection. Perhaps it is the times we live in. Or perhaps this is what the tennis culture has evolved to—so much talk about process and such—but beneath the profound physicality Djokovic and Nadal display, each also has a certain existential philosopher dimension. Djokovic reflected on where he had been 12 months ago. Eighteen months of poor results had been followed by elbow surgery in February.

“I wasn’t feeling good on the court,” he said of the challenges he’d faced in the first half of 2018. “I was questioning everything, I was doubting whether I will be able to play everyone on this level because I didn’t know to what extent the operation of my elbow would affect my game.”

Though always thoughtful in his post-match press conferences, the beaten Nadal gave even longer answers than usual this evening, as if he were trying to comprehend both for himself and the gathered media what had transpired. This had been Nadal’s first tournament since the US Open. Since then he’d wrestled with ailments related to his knee, feet, abdomen and ankle. Glad as he was to have reached the final, Nadal looked ahead in two directions.

“I need matches, but I can’t go crazy to play matches,” he said. “I have my age. I have my calendar. I have my priorities. My priority now is come back home, have some rest.”

With the 2019 tennis year in full bloom, Djokovic is thoroughly in command and has once again put himself in position to earn many more Grand Slam titles. This one was No. 15, snapping a tie with Djokovic’s childhood idol, Pete Sampras.

“To surpass him with Grand Slam titles," said Djokovic, "I’m speechless.”

The Serb has brought down the curtain on the Roger and Rafa Renaissance that began in Melbourne two years ago. But Djokovic hasn’t merely resurrected his game. He has taken it to a new level. How the other men will meet the challenge of competing with Djokovic is the most intriguing story of 2019. In the meantime, ponder the masterpiece Djokovic composed this evening.

Said Djokovic, “It was truly a perfect match.”

This Week on Tennis Channel Plus:

WTA St. Petersburg: Starting Monday, Jan. 28 at 5 a.m. ET, catch live coverage of the St. Petersburg Ladies Trophy featuring Australian Open finalist Petra Kvitova and Maria Sharapova.

WTA Hua Hin: Top seed Garbine Muguruza headlines the field from Hua Hin. Watch every match of the Thailand Open, starting Monday, Jan. 28 at 3 a.m. ET.