Three-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic beat Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 in the men's final on Rod Laver Arena to move one step closer to overtaking Federer and Nadal in tennis' ultimate battle.
After laying his hands on his third Australian Open title, the Serbian tennis star now has three major singles titles and is just two steps away from claiming the men's all-time record, currently held by Roger Federer and Rafael.
Novak Djokovic was marred by controversy in the lead up to his Australian Open title after he wrote a letter to the organisers to ease the quarantine restrictions for players. Djokovic faced a lot of criticism for his suggestion, especially coming on the back of the mishap of the Adria Tour exhibition event in the Balkans organised by Djokovic, when several players tested positive for covid-19.
However, the tennis star did not let all the criticism affect him and clinched his third Australian Open title, the first of which came in 2008. In doing so, Djokovic also matched Roger Federer's ranking record of staying put on the ATP Throne for 310 weeks.
Djokovic began his stint at the top of the men's singles charts after last year's Australian Open victory and has managed to keep Rafael Nadal and all other competitors at bay. This is the fifth time that Djokovic has reached the top of the ATP singles charts. The last time it happened was at the end of 2018 when he stayed there for close to a year before Rafael Nadal overtook the Serb towards the end of 2019.
"Each of the Australian Open wins is different, it's hard to compare," Djokovic said in his post-match media conference after the title win. "But it has been definitely emotionally the most challenging grand slams that I ever had with everything that was happening — injury, off-the-court stuff, quarantines. It has been a roller-coaster ride in the last four weeks."
"Roger, Rafa, myself are still there for a reason. We don't want to hand it to them and we don't want to allow them to win slams. I think that's something that is very clear. Whether you communicate that message or not, we are definitely sending that vibe out there. I'm sticking to that."
Despite being two Grand Slam titles shy of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the 33 year old Djokovic not only has the ability to equal the all-time record of the greats but also overtake them.
