Novak Djokovic has won the Australian Open, as he defeated the fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia in three straight sets.
This has given him his 18th career Grand Slam title.
Djokovic, the veteran from Serbia ranked No. 1 in the world, defeated the fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 7-6, 6-2, 6-2, in the Australian Open men’s singles final Sunday night.
The victory gave Djokovic his ninth Australian Open singles championship, a tournament record on the men’s side, and the 18th Grand Slam title of his career. Djokovic has made nine Australian Open finals and won each time, including in the last three years.
With this Grand Slam championship, Djokovic is now just two behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the race to achieve the most major men’s singles titles in a career.
Djokovic, 33, is a year younger than Nadal and six years younger than Federer, who will soon begin his comeback from two surgeries on his right knee, though it remains to be seen whether he will be a championship contender or embarking on a farewell tour.
Grand Slam titles are the first measuring stick in any discussion of who is the greatest player of the modern and professional era of tennis, also known as the Open era, which began in 1968.
This year’s tournament will be remembered as one of Djokovic’s longest and toughest journeys to the championship.
First, quarantine restrictions wreaked havoc on preparations for the Open, the year’s first Grand Slam event. Then an injured abdominal muscle nearly forced Djokovic out of the tournament. Taylor Fritz, the 27th seed, stretched him to five sets in the third round, and Djokovic played a four-set match with two tiebreakers in the quarterfinals against Alexander Zverev, the rising star from Germany ranked seventh on the ATP Tour.
Yet Djokovic met all those challenges. He recovered more quickly from his abdominal injury than he expected, then vanquished the hottest player in tennis. Medvedev rode a 20-match winning streak into battle Sunday night.
