The streak continues. Novak Djokovic remains undefeated in finals at Melbourne Park, winning an unprecedented ninth Australian Open title on Sunday night after trouncing Russia’s Daniil Medvedev 7-5 6-2 6-2.
Djokovic’s ninth Australian Open triumph was his third on the trot, the second time in his career he has won three consecutive majors at Melbourne Park.
It was also the 33-year-old’s 18th grand slam victory, putting him only two majors behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal who hold the record for most male grand slam wins on 20.
He said the win was “emotionally” one of his toughest.
“To be honest, with quarantine and a lot of things happening in the media, the letter that I wrote, ideas and recommendations that I got from players was misinterpreted as my request and list of demands,” Djokovic said of a leaked letter he wrote to Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley when some players went into hard lockdown.
“Then the next thing you know within a couple of days I’m the persona non grata in this country. I got injured in the third round. It was rollercoaster ride if I can define it in one word. I think it makes [it] even sweeter for me. I’ll take a lot of positives from this tournament without a doubt.”
Djokovic said he tore a muscle in his abdomen in the third round, but then recovered to keep winning, causing people to question how genuine the injury was.
“It’s a muscle tear,” he said on Sunday. “It was a muscle tear at that point. I don’t think I’ve experienced that kind of a snap that I have in the third round. I went to MRI. MRI has shown a tear.
“People questioned that. I understand they question my injury. Question whether there is a tear. There is. I mean I can get the doctors and physios to confirm that.”
Medvedev began strongly but wilted as the match went on, the loss his first in a 20-match winning streak which included victories over top 10 players on 12 occasions.
The Russian had also beaten Djokovic in three of the pair’s last four clashes, most recently at the ATP Finals in England late in 2020, but the Serbian simply had a greater variety of ways to win points and made many less errors on this night.
