The Big Three were not quite as dominant in this tournament, although they were pretty close. Considering that Roger Federer is closing in 40, and that Nadal is approaching his mid-30's, that perhaps is not all that surprising.
The surprise is probably in that it has not happened sooner.
Still, the other member of the "Big Three," Novak Djokovic, was back in famliar territory, in another Australian Open Men's Final.
Djokovic is getting older, too, of course. He is 32 years old, and will be 33 by the time the next Grand Slam final at the terre battue of the French Open is played.
If Federer is historically dominant at Wimbledon, and Nadal historically dominant at the French Open, then Djokovic seems to specialize "down under" at the Australian Open. The current number two ranked man in men's tennis entered this match having won the Australian Open title seven times prior. He was seeking his eighth Australian championship, and his 17th overall career Grand Slam title. Also, he was seeking to strengthen his chances at regaining the number one ranking again.
His opponent is perhaps not quite as familiar to casual sports fans, but he still is well-known in tennis circles. Yes, DominicThiem is one of the elites, as well. He currently ranks number 5 in the world, but his strong showing here at the Australian should strengthen his positioning. He might begin to come closer to overtaking at least one of the "Big Three." For the third time in his career, Thiem has qualified for a Grand Slam Men's Final. He reached the final for both of the last two French Opens, ultimately falling to the "King of Clay," Rafael Nadal.
Thiem is hoping that this third time will be the charm, although once again, he will try to win a Grand Slam against the best ever at that particular tournament. Maybe Novak Djokovic has not won 12 of these titles, like Nadal has in Paris, but seven prior titles still is not at all bad. When he gets past the quarterfinal round of the Australian Open, Djokovic is undefeated. He has reached eight semifinals here, and won them all. This is his eighth final match here, and he is hoping to stay perfect and make it eight for eight.
Djokovic convincingly downed the great Roger Federer to reach this final, while Thiem outlasted the young and rising German, Alexander Zverev, in the other semifinal.
What a match this is going to be!
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