Novak Djokovic defeats Rafael Nadal in ATP Cup final
Like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, two all-time greats slugged it out on centre court at Ken Rosewall Arena.
Novak Djokovic won the 2012 Australian Open by beating Rafael Nadal in five hours and 53 minutes, the equivalent of playing four straight NRL games, running two consecutive Olympic marathons or going 117 rounds in a boxing ring.
While they stood and swayed from exhaustion during a trophy ceremony that lasted nearly as long as the match – Tennis Australia employees and their sponsors do love a speech – someone was kind enough to grab a couple of plastic seats for the poor exhausted buggers to sit on.
Nadal’s rivalry with Federer has always been the one we’ve gone gaga about. The one Broadway might salute with a musical, the one Hollywood might write a movie about. But Nadal’s clashes with Djokovic have been more plentiful and gruelling: 55 arm wrestles and battles of wits that have routinely gone long into the night.
It has been a herculean achievement for Djokovic, formerly the third wheel, the suspected weakling, to stick his nose into the Federer-Nadal duopoly and get the better of them both. He leads the head-to-head against Federer at 26-23 and after the ATP Cup final in Sydney on Sunday evening, he leads Nadal 29-26. G.O.A.T, anyone?
Spain’s world number one versus Serbia’s world number two – these matches have the feel of history playing out before our eyes. They’re Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali against Joe Frazier, contests with a little extra magic dolloped on top, athletes to be talked about a hundred years from now.
The curtain-raiser was between two gentlemen players, Roberto Bautista Agut and Dusan Lajovic, the former giving Spain a 1-0 lead in a 7-5 6-1 triumph. They slugged it out in a quality match that in itself would have been worth the price of admission alone.
Amid confusion about the replaying of a point, they worked it out themselves. But then came the rumble in the jungle. Bautista Agut said, “And now we are going to see one of the best matches we can see on a tennis court.”
A couple of human ball machines went at it, even if Nadal’s batteries were running low after an arduous schedule.
Djokovic ripped through the first set in 39 minutes as Nadal lost patience with the Serbian spectators making a non-stop commotion.
Nadal complained to the umpire, giving them a sarcastic thumbs up while stomping to his courtside seat. Djokovic shook his racquet as if to tell the patrons, keep it up.
The umpire resorted to making announcements in Serbian but in truth, the fans were the least of Nadal’s problems. He could make no inroads on Djokovic’s serve. He had to fight tooth and nail to hold his own. Djokovic looked as if he knew he had Nadal covered … because he did, if only just, 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
Nadal was rushed and back-pedaling while Djokovic stood tall on the baseline, hitting the ball flatter and harder. Nadal fought and fought, as always, and got a second wind midway though the second set. Like an endurance runner feeling good out of nowhere, he was suddenly in full stride again.
The match reached rare air in set number two. Nadal held five break points to lead 4-2 but Djokovic grunted and grit his teeth and escaped. Nadal reverted to slicing defensive backhands, always his last resort, and serve-volleying. Djokovic was content to hug the baseline like it was a friend.
He needed no Plans B or C because Plan A was working a treat. His only real variation to the relentless ground stroke onslaught was to throw in a deft drop shot or ten. Nadal needed every inch of his warrior attributes to force a tie-breaker as Ken Rosewall Arena became as noisy as it has ever been. Djokovic could yet win more majors than Nadal and Federer while trumping them head-to-head. If so, you could write his name across the sky. G.O.A.T.
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