MWith an impressive display of strength, Novak Djokovic achieved his ninth Australian Open title perfectly. In an unexpectedly stress-free final, last year’s Serbian winner 7: 5, 6: 2, 6: 2 beat rival Daniel Medvedev on Sunday and became more and more the pre-eminent tennis player in Melbourne history. The Serb mercilessly ended the career of the 25-year-old Russian, who had already won 20 games in a row and won his hat-trick in Australia.

Controversy will continue over when a new, non-young generation player can defeat a formative three-man actor in one of the most important finals. For the second time, Djokovic won three times in a row in the capital on the Yara River. In 2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2020, he held the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup in his hands.

He won all of his finals at Rod Laver Stadium – an unforgettable record. Djokovic won the prize money of about 1.8 million euros. With his eighteenth Grand Slam title, he is close to the highest levels of his rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who each have 20. Medvedev missed the opportunity to use his latest impressive form to achieve his first major title. In the world ranking it will improve to third place on Monday.

Djokovic teaches a lesson

At the Rod Laver Stadium, half of which was packed with about 7,500 spectators, Medvedev did not come close to what was expected of him in the final. Djokovic dominated the start, surprisingly from one side, after just eight minutes it was 3-0. There was no sign of his abdominal muscle injury, which did not make him appear immune during the tournament. At first, Medvedev was not fazed by the deficit and tied again. But a slight mistake in a forehand secured Djokovic’s victory in the first set.