Sunday, February 2, 2020

Novak Djokovic Wins 8th Australian Open, 17th Career Grand Slam Title



Novak Djokovic made history earlier today, and started off the new year, and new decade, right, by coming back from two sets to one down to ultimately defeat fifth-seeded Austrian Dominic Thiem 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, winning his eighth Australian Open title. So far in 2020, Djokovis is off to a perfect 13-0 start. It also was his 17th career Grand Slam title. He still ranks third among men historically speaking, as he trails the all-time leader in terms of career Grand Slam titles accumulated, Roger Federer, who has won 20. Djokovic also still trails Rafael Nadal, who has won 19 career Grand Slam championships. The rivalry between Djokovic and Nadal has been the biggest rivalry in the sport numerous times in the last decade or so, and in particular, the two men have dominated this sport on the men’s side for the past year and a half now. Both men have been part the age of 30 during this era of dominance between the two, even though 30 is considered relatively advanced age for professional athletes like this. Together, they have won the last eight Grand Slam championships, with Djokovic having accumulated five of those titles, and Nadal having won three.              

It was not at all certain that Djokovic was going to win this one, however. Thiem came out ready to play, and after dropping the first set, he won the next two sets, and pretty much dominated Djokovic in the third set. At that point, it indeed looked like Thiem was ready to win his first ever Grand Slam championship.              

But Djokovic did not become one of the greatest tennis legends in history by simply giving up when he gets down, and things grow tough. Djokovic proved his mettle, and stormed back. He convincingly won the fourth set, and then managed an early break in the fifth set. Thiem rallied, but Djokovic was unrelenting, ultimately wearing down the younger man and closing the match out when he needed it.              

As a result, Djokovic extends his record of Australian Open titles, winning it for the eighth time, two more than the next closest, as both Roger Federer and Roy Emerson had each won the Australian six times themselves. Djokovic became one of the most dominant champions of any particular Grand Slam tournament. Federer also won eight Wimbledon titles, which is the most for that tournament. Three men have won the U.S. Open title seven times, but in the modern era, three men (Federer, Pete Sampras, and Jimmy Connors) have won that title five times each. Famously, Nadal leads all men historically with the most championships in one particular Grand Slam, having won the French Open an astonishing 12 times. But Djokovic is clearly climbing on this list with his eight titles in Melbourne, more than anyone else for this tournament.              

It should be noted that Djokovic has also won five Wimbledon titles, which ranks fourth on the all-time list there. Additionally, Djokovic has captured three U.S. Open championships, and one French Open title, making him one of eight men in tennis history to have achieved the career Grand Slam.              Now, Djokovic will return to the number one ranking in men’s tennis, something If Djokovic holds onto the number one ranking for more than 11 weeks, he will pass Pete Sampras on the list of most number of total weeks ranked number one, and will rank only behind Roger Federer for the most of all-time. Currently, Djokovic has topped the men’s rankings for 275 non-consecutive weeks, with Federer having owned it the most overall with 310 weeks, and Sampras at number two with 286 weeks. It should be noted that Rafael Nadal is still active, and was ranked number one for 209 total weeks.              

The last few times that any of the “Big Three” of men’s tennis won Grand Slams, I went on and on, rattling off statistics that underscored just how dominant these men have been, and how much they have just cast a shadow over all the other men in the circuit. That is not something that I intend to do this time, because it just seems too repetitive.              

That said, consider this: you have to go all the way back to January of 2018 for the last time that anyone other than Djokovic or Nadal won a Grand Slam, and that was Roger Federer. You would have to go all the way back to the U.S. Open in 2016 for the last time that any man outside of the “Big Three” won a Grand Slam title. Stan Wawrinka won that one, beating Djokovic in a physically grueling match.  

In fact, two men – Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, each of whom won three career Grand Slam titles - have enjoyed serious success at multiple Grand Slam finals, other than the “Big Three,” in recent years. The only other man to have broken through in the past decade would be Marin Čilić in the U.S. Open in 2014. Only one other man has broken through before that in almost a decade, when Juan Del Potro shocked the tennis world by winning the U.S. Open in 2009. In fact, there have been very few exceptions to the general rule of one of the “Big Three” ultimately winning the Grand Slam titles. Other than the exceptions that I mentionedou have to go all the way back to the Australian Open of 2005 – fully a decade and a half ago! – for the last time that anyone else won a Grand Slam title. Djokovic was a virtual unknown at the time, Rafael Nadal was only beginning to emerge (he would win the French Open for the first of many times just a few months later), and Andre Agassi was still among the top-ranked men. It seemed that Roger Federer might – again, might – have a real chance to top the record of 14 career Grand Slam titles held by Pete Sampras, who had retired a little more than two years earlier, following his last Grand Slam title. Clearly, the tennis world looked a lot different at the time. But other than the specifics regarding the championships and records piling up since then, men’s tennis has looked remarkably familiar, year after year, especially if you include Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka into the mix. Again, only two men outside of those guys have managed to break through and win even a single Grand Slam championship in all of that time.              

Going back slightly farther, only one other man, Gastón Gaudio, has won a Grand Slam title since the beginning of the era of dominance of the “Big Three,” with Andy Murray also included among that elite list of man who have reached the number one ranking. It was in early 2004 that Roger Federer, who finally broken through and won the 2003 Wimbledon title, won the Australian Open and overtook Andy Roddick for the world number one ranking. Since then, the “Big Three” and Andy Murray have basically taken turns dominating men’s tennis.              

That speaks volumes regarding just how dominated men’s tennis has been by just a few names, and none bigger than the “Big Three.” Djokovic strikes gold again in Australia, and once again, it is Djokovic and Nadal who rank number one and number two as the 2020 tennis season gets fully underway. And Thiem just trails Roger Federer, who for now, still is clinging to that number three ranking.              

Thiem is getting closer, and you have to figure that sooner or later, he will also break through and win a Grand Slam championship. He has been knocking on the door for a few years now, having just lost to Nadal at Roland Garros in the men’s final the past two years, and coming so close to beating Djokovic in this one earlier today. Perhaps he will be the first, and he seems on the verge of overtaking Federer in the rankings to crack through to the top three, for the first time in his career. It will be fascinating to see if he can do it.              

or now, though, you have to congratulate Djokovic on yet another incredible performance, and another notch on his already impressive collection of Grand Slam trophies. And with Nadal still looking in top form as well, and Djokovic having won four of the last six Wimbledon titles (he was injured during those two years when he did not win) it still looks good right now for the “Big Three” to continue their era of dominance right into this new year and new decade.


Novak Djokovic
Photo courtesy of Yann Caradec's Flickr Page - Novak Djokovic: https://www.flickr.com/photos/la_bretagne_a_paris/5763317762
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