Australian Open 2019, Men's final: 3 things we learned

Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in a one-sided final at the Rod Laver Arena yesterday. It was Djokovic’s 7th Australian Open and 15th Grand Slam title overall. He is still two behind Nadal and five behind Roger Federer in terms of winning Majors. Djokovic took only around two hours in dismantling Nadal in one of the most dominating displays in the final of any Grand Slam in the modern era.

Nadal had not lost any set in the tournament before the final, but could not win any in it. Tennis lovers had expected a much tighter contest between the arch-rivals, but Djokovic’s flawless display made the final a lop-sided affair from the very beginning.

Djokovic broke Nadal in the second game of the first set and then held his serve again to open up a 3-0 lead. He never looked back after that and Nadal could not break his serve even once during the match. He has now won 3 Grand Slams on the trot and would fancy his chances of eclipsing Federer’s record tally in the next few years. Nadal, meanwhile, stayed on 17 Slams himself and should still start as the favorite at Roland Garros, his second home.

We would now take a look at the 3 things we learnt from yesterday’s match:

---

1. Djokovic served exceptionally well

Djokovic served exceptionally well yesterday

Djokovic is not known to have a particularly strong serve and is usually lauded for his exceptional return of service. However, he served exceedingly well yesterday and did not allow Nadal any leeway in his service games. Even a great returner like Nadal failed to break Djokovic even once and the latter had virtually no problem in holding his serve.

Djokovic had a first serve success percentage of 72% during the match and committed no double fault. He also hit 8 aces and won 40 points out of 50 on his serve. He has definitely improved his serve during the last year or so, and it is difficult to believe that he underwent a major surgery only 12 months ago.

Nadal got only one break point in the whole match, but failed to convert it. Djokovic also served 3 aces in the last game of the second set to take the match away from Nadal. He does not have a booming serve in his repertoire, but its positioning and accuracy was enough to keep a seasoned campaigner like Nadal at bay.

2. Nadal committed too many unforced errors

Nadal's usually lethal forehand was not good enough yesterday

Nadal committed too many unforced errors in the match to have any realistic chance of winning it. He made 28 errors and frequently hit his forehands too wide or long. It made the job easier for Djokovic, who himself committed only 9 unforced errors.

Nadal’s usually reliable forehand could not do the trick yesterday and he struggled to find his rhythm in the longer rallies. He had some great moments in the match, and did hit some great winners too, but his efforts were not enough to ruffle Djokovic’s resolve. It was a pity, because Nadal is such a great competitor usually and always manages to stretch his opponents in big matches.

He could never get into the groove yesterday and looked a shadow of his usual self. Djokovic has now won 16 of their last 19 matches, and decidedly has the psychological edge over his Spanish rival.

3. Djokovic dictated terms from the baseline

Djokovic has an unreal double-handed backhand

It is actually almost impossible to beat Djokovic in a baseline slugfest on a hard court, even more so when he is in as sublime a form as he was yesterday. He consistently hit the balls deep and low to Nadal and thereby did not allow the latter to hit his ferocious forehands with full power.

Moreover, Nadal also could not make Djokovic move sideways too frequently, and the latter hit some outrageous crosscourt winners from all angles. Djokovic’s double-handed backhand must feature alongside Pete Sampras’ serve among the best tennis shots of all time, and he literally decimated Nadal with those backhand winners. In all, Djokovic hit 34 winners yesterday, and reaffirmed his status as the greatest ever player on hard courts.

However, it would be really interesting to see how he fares against a genuine big-server with a good all-round game on hard courts. It is a pity that there are not too many players like that in the circuit at the moment. It would have been great to see Djokovic pitted against Pete Sampras in his prime in a hard court match. Still, it must be said that any player in the history of the game would have found it difficult to hold his own against the imperious Djokovic yesterday.