NE SPORTS BUREAU
MELBOURNE PARK, FEB 2
World number two and Serbian tennis maestro Novak Djokovic battled back from two sets down to beat Austrian tennis player
Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the summit showdown of the Australian Open on Sunday. With the win, Djokovic has successfully also defended his title and clinched a record-extending eighth Grand Slam crown at Melbourne Park.
Second-seeded Novak Djokovic – who entered the Australian Open men’s, singles final as the hot favourite, had to battle it out against Austria’s Dominic Thiem before he won his 8th title at the Rod Laver Arena. In a contest worthy of a final, Djokovic defeated Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. As expected, Djokovic cruised to a 3-0 lead in the opening set after which Thiem – who arguably played the best tennis of his life in the last two weeks, fought back hard to win the next two sets. The champion that he is, Djokovic fought back showcasing amazing grit and won the remaining two sets to continue his unbeaten run after reaching the semis in Australian Open history. The final lasted 3 hours and 59 minutes as Djokovic proved his class once again with his back against the wall.
Thiem played one of the best matches of life to give the second-seeded Serb a run for his money in the summit clash. At the end of the third set, Djokovic looked fatigued and his game went haywire. He was struggling physically and also mentally but brought all his experience to the table and extended his head-to-head record against 7-4 in their 11th meeting. Djokovic also extended his unbeaten run in 2020 to 13-0 which also includes him guiding Team Serbia to clinch the inaugural ATP Cup trophy.
