Novak Djokovic routs Daniil Medvedev to claim his ninth Australian Open title
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Novak Djokovic has won his ninth Australian Open title, beating Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in a one-sided final at Melbourne Park. Victory takes Djokovic’s grand slam singles tally to 18 – just two behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Djokovic began the match in ominous fashion, breaking Medvedev in the second game of the first set. The Russian broke back in the fifth and the set continued on serve until the 12th game, when Djokovic raced to 0-40 and three set points, taking the third as a deep return forced a Medvedev error.
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Medvedev broke Djokovic in the first game of the second set but the Serb hit back immediately, reeling off four straight games to crank up the pressure on his opponent. Djokovic was taken to deuce in the seventh game but held on, causing Medvedev to break his racket in frustration as he felt the match slipping away.
Djokovic had won all eight of his previous finals in Melbourne and made his experience count, breaking Medvedev again to go two sets clear. The world No 4, playing in his second grand slam final compared to Djokovic’s 28, surrendered his serve in the second game of the third set with a poor cross-court volley.
The finish line was now in Djokovic’s sights and he kept his foot on the throttle, an overhead smash sealing another break on championship point. After a run to the final marred by injury concerns and off-court controversy, he will once again leave Australia with the trophy he has made his own in the last decade.