That’s all from me today. From another shock championship performance by a young female player to another Big 3 male player edging a five-setter to uphold the status quo, what a crazy two weeks of tennis that was. Thanks a lot for following throughout the past couple of weeks. Bye.
Updated
We always talk about Federer and Nadal's longevity but Djokovic has now won at least one title every year for 15 years.
— Simon Cambers (@scambers73) February 2, 2020
Here is Djokovic’s speech. Kudos to these men and women for giving their all in these matches they dreamed of as children, experiencing the extreme elation or distress that comes with a slam final, yet still having the wherewithal to deliver coherent speeches to millions of people in their second language. Not many other sports do this.
"This is a reminder to all of us that we should stick together more than ever."
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 2, 2020
Words of wisdom from eight-time #AusOpen champion, @DjokerNole. #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/b2yrSfW6IG
Updated
What a brutal loss that was for Dominic Thiem. He has now lost his first three slam finals, a figure that would normally be described as a crisis (remember Andy Murray?) But his loses have been to Nadal as the Spaniard collected his 11th and 12 Roland Garros titles and now Djokovic enroute to his 8th Australian Open title.
Thiem is still constantly improving Djokovic is absolutely right that he should eventually break through and win his first slam, but there is still a mental cost to these losses and it is by no means a certainty that he will eventually win one. The only thing he can do is keep on persevering in the hope that a slam draw will eventually fall his way.
Still, another impressive fortnight from a player who is finally putting it together across all surfaces rather than just on clay.
Here is Dominic Thiem’s speech.
Always a tough ask to speak after a loss but brilliantly done @ThiemDomi.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 2, 2020
We can't wait to see you back next year 👋 #AO2020 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/N2fOpOdvXk
Djokovic to Thiem:
I would like to start by saying congratulations to Dominic for amazing tournament. It wasn’t to be tonight but it was a tough match and you were very close to win it. You definitely have a lot more time in your career I’m sure that you will get one of the slam trophies... More! More than one.
Djokovic also mentioned the passing of his friend Kobe Bryant and, like Thiem, the bushfire devastation bringing perspective.
Updated
Here is our first report on Novak Djokovic’s 17th slam title:
Dominic Thiem:
I would like to start of course with a huge congrats to Novak. Amazing achievement and also to all your team. Unreal what you are doing throughout all this years. You and also two other guys, I think you brought men’s tennis to a complete new level and I’m really proud and happy that I can compete in these times and this period of tennis. I fell a little bit short today but I hope I can get soon a little revenge, so very well done.
Updated
Remarkable:
— Ravi Ubha (@raviubha) February 2, 2020
Federer, Nadal and Djokovic have all won a major 8 times (in Rafa's case, at least).
Nadal 12 at Roland Garros
Federer 8 at Wimbledon
Djokovic 8 at the Australian Open
.@DjokerNole is the 1st man in the Open Era to win #GrandSlam singles titles in 3 different decades and the
— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) February 2, 2020
2nd in history after Ken Rosewall, who earned Major titles in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. #AusOpen
It’s time for the trophy ceremony.
Updated
Djokovic’s triumphs today:
- 8th Australian Open title
- 17th slam title
- 78th ATP title, moving him above John McEnroe to 5th all time
That match was Novak Djokovic in a nutshell. In the second and third sets, he struggled badly with his serve, his level dropped to the floor and he played some truly horrendous tennis at times. But there is no other player in history as good at digging out of a hole and finding their focus when absolutely necessary. He did it at Wimbledon against Federer and he did it here again. This was by no means a classic match in terms of quality, but it was another mental triumph for the new world number one.
Novak Djokovic defeats Dominic Thiem 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 to win his 8th Australian Open
He does it! Novak Djokovic recovers from 2-1 sets down in a slam final for the first time to win his 8th Australian Open and 17th slam. He was struggling badly for much of the event, but he always finds a way. An incredible effort from Thiem, but it wasn’t enough. It rarely is against Djokovic.
Updated
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 *5-4 Dominic Thiem: Thiem has done all he can here. With thanks to a couple of misfiring Djokovic backhands, the Austrian moves through a quick hold to 15 and he will force Djokovic to handle the pressure and serve out his 8th Australian Open title. You never know.
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 5-3* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic’s service game opened with the most extraordinary long point, with Thiem finally being dragged into the net and doing just enough to elicit a forehand error from Djokovic’s passing shot. At 15-15, Thiem then crunched an excellent down the line forehand return, forcing a backhand error from Djokovic and opening the door.
Djokovic responded with a quick serve and forehand winner combo from 15-30, then he slid in an excellent wide serve for an easy service winner. With a second service winner in a row, he held and pumped a fist to his team. One game away.
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 *4-3 Dominic Thiem: Somehow, Thiem survives again. Thiem spent this service game taking his forehand on at full pace and spraying a variety of incredible winners and ghastly unforced errors before finding himself down break point, a defacto match point.
He saved the break point with a big ,unreturned serve down the T, then he found an ace at deuce. On his fourth game point, he fired down an excellent service winner off a second serve. Thiem may not win this match, but he is showing that he is such an admirable competitor.
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 4-2* Dominic Thiem: Thiem is still trying as hard as he can, but there is only so much you can do against the force that is Novak Djokovic. After two tough deuce games, he pours a tub of salt into Thiem’s wounds with a swift love hold. After struggling so badly on his serve for two sets, now he is serving from the stratosphere.
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 *3-2 Dominic Thiem: Thiem digs out another tough hold to stay in the match. After being pegged back from 40-30 to deuce, he found a big serve at deuce followed by a bruising forehand to hold.
Thiem is beginning to tire in these longer rallies but he deserves immense credit for his resilience and temperament here. After losing his serve, he immediately fought back and generated break points. He is still fighting with everything he has and, aside from a few words to his box and shakes of the head, he has betrayed almost no emotion in the biggest match of his life.
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 3-1* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic survives an excruciatingly tense service game, saving two break points to hold. On the first break point, Thiem set up the point well but then he sent a aggressive forehand into the net. He responded by immediately generating a second break point with a vicious crosscourt backhand.
This time, Djokovic responded. He completely changed things up with a serve and volley on break point. He did just enough with the backhand volley to force the error. At deuce, with the tension at its peak, Djokovic then had the clarity to throw in an excellent drop shot. With a final missed backhand from Thiem, Djokovic held.
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 *2-1 Dominic Thiem: Djokovic breaks first! Thiem rightfully held his head in his hands as he sent a routine forehand to an open court well long, giving Djokovic a 30-30 window. He then missed a first serve and, of course, Djokovic ground him down until he missed a forehand. With his third successive forehand error, he handed over the break.
The defending champ is not missing now and this is turning into a very typical Djokovic recovery after looking horrendous in parts of this match. Can Thiem do anything to break his momentum?
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 1-1* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic bites back with a second successive love hold of the match. Excellent serving, both first and second. At 30-0, Djokovic produced a slow but wicked kick serve to Thiem’s backhand that elicited an error. I keep on going on about it, but now that his second serve is slightly more trustworthy, everything is flowing better.
Fifth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 *0-1 Dominic Thiem: After losing the opening point, four excellent points in succession from Thiem to secure an essential hold.
He burst to a 40-15 with a down the line backhand winner so good that Djokovic applauded, then he finished it off with a serve-forehand one-two. Good work.
Thiem has departed to the locker room and he undoubtedly knows that the burden will be on him to raise his level. He didn’t do too much wrong in that set, but he threw in one bad service game and he was viciously punished. Djokovic thrives in these scenarios and Thiem will have to stand up to him in these early stages of the fifth set.
Novak Djokovic forces Thiem into a fifth set 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3.
After starting the fourth set in a desperate state, Djokovic saved an early break point and he is now serving extremely well and barely missing off the ground. An excellent recovery. This is what he does.
Updated
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 5-3* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic breaks. Djokovic has indeed dug into this second set and Thiem finally helped him along, missing a simple volley at 15-0 and then double faulting at 15-30. Thiem saved the first break point with a forehand winner, but then he blasted a forehand miles long. Suddenly, Djokovic is serving for a fifth set.
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 4-3* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic slams down a quick hold, winning four points in a row from 0-15 to inch back in the lead. Suddenly, he is serving extremely well.
Both players are incredibly alert right now and the next 10-15 minutes will be crucial.
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 *3-3 Dominic Thiem: Right after Djokovic’s most encouraging hold in a long time, Thiem slams the door shut with an exceptional hold. Djokovic is clearly far happier with his game now and he is hitting cleaner and with greater depth.
With the Serb prowling at 30-30, Thiem found a great service winner. Djokovic then dragged him into deuce by winning an endless slice rally. Thiem responded like a champ by going on the attack, pounding forehands and then coolly putting away the overhead after what felt like about 5 clear winners against any other player. He closed off with an easy serve-forehand one-two.
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 3-2* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic keeps himself ahead with perhaps his best hold since the second set. He served much better and sealed it off with a dainty cat-and-mouse point in which he brought Thiem forward and then finished the point at the net.
Perhaps most importantly, he seems to have figured out how he should hit his second serve now, forcing a return error with a very solid 145kmh second serve at 30-0.
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 *2-2 Dominic Thiem: As Djokovic tries to find his level again, Thiem looks free. He held with another sliding ace in a game that included some exceptional hitting, including yet another searing backhand down the line winner.
Updated
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 2-1* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic keeps himself ahead, but only narrowly as he quickly found himself down 30-40 after a bad forehand miss.
He responded incredibly well. At break point, Djokovic did something that he has only attempted once today: he serve and volleyed, scuppering the break point with two slick volleys. He then moved into the net on the very next point and executed another lovely volley. He completed the hold with a bit of luck - a net cord winner off a regular slice.
If he is in any mental shape for a scrap, Djokovic should take a lot from how he navigated that game.
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 *1-1 Dominic Thiem: These early games are going to be so important for Thiem as Djokovic looks to dig into the fourth set, break early and steal some momentum. We have seen it so often in the past. A great hold to 15 from the Austrian there, closed off with his 9th ace after some exemplary serving.
Updated
Fourth set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-6 1-0* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic pieces together an essential routine hold to open the fourth set, sealed with a point-ending inside-in forehand. He is still struggling with his second serve and rolling them in at laughable speeds, but it was enough there.
From John Murray on Twitter:
“How many times has Novak trailed 2 sets to 1 in Australian Open finals?”
The answer is zero. Uncharted territory for Novak Djokovic here. However, he is the world’s top expert at playing poorly against the very best yet winning the points that matter and escaping with the win.
If he wants to come back, he has to start with his serve which has been a complete mess. After increasing his second serve speed in the off-season and firing huge second serves throughout this tournament, it has unraveled under pressure and it is affecting every part of his game.
Dominic Thiem takes a 4-6 6-4 6-2 lead
That was nervy and tough, but Thiem edges out the hold to move to within a set of his first slam title. Thiem moved up set point at 40-30, but he just couldn’t convert. Djokovic forced a forehand error from Thiem on the first set point at 40-30, then Thiem double faulted on the second set point. On the third attempt, Djokovic crunched a great backhand down the line return winner. But after saving a break point, Thiem finally got it done.
The three unforced errors by Djokovic from break point up was a great reflection of his level today.
Updated
Third set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 2-5* Dominic Thiem: A regulation, businesslike hold from Djokovic with much better serving. Now for the most important game of the match so far: Thiem will attempt to serve this out.
Third set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 *1-5 Dominic Thiem: Well, that was easy. Dominic Thiem strolls to a love hold, sealed with a glorious backhand down the line. That shot was missing in action early on but now he can’t stop landing them. One game away from a 2-1 sets lead.
Djokovic just had the trainer on for an unspecified reason. The commentators at Eurosport thought they heard something about Djokovic being “tired”. Who knows?
Third set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 1-4* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic finally nabs his first game since 4-4 in the second set. Some good serving and one particularly delightful finish off a serve and volley, but it’s doubtful that Thiem was particularly fussed about that.
Third set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 *0-4 Dominic Thiem: Thiem very nearly did help Djokovic back into the set, double faulting at 15-15. But he recovered extremely well, eliciting a Djokovic forehand error with an awesome crosscourt forehand before directing a lovely lob over the Serb’s head. He sealed the hold with an ace. A great sequence.
As dire as Djokovic has been since the middle of the second set, Thiem deserves so much credit for how he has handled these tight moments. Six games in a row.
Third set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 0-3* Dominic Thiem: Thiem is flying as Djokovic sinks deeper into distress. After Djokovic fell down 0-30 with his 5th double fault of the day, Thiem responded with another brilliant backhand down the line at 15-30, a shot that is finally beginning to fire. On the second break point, Djokovic dumped a weak forehand into the net.
It will take something spectacular from Djokovic to win this set from a double break down or something spectacularly poor from Thiem to lose this set.
Third set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 *0-2 Dominic Thiem: A tremendous hold from Thiem to consolidate the break. Djokovic played a glorious drop shot at 30-30 to bring up break point, which Thiem erased with a vicious backhand down the line after a long point.
At deuce, Thiem landed a huge inside out forehand to bring up deuce before a solid first serve elicited a return error. Bold and brave under immense pressure.
From Philip:
Djokovic and Federer have played each other 50 times with the Serb winning 27-23 including 11-6 in Grand Slams, 13-6 in tournament finals and 21-10 since 2011.
Surely there must be a case for Novak being the greatest player of all time?
Yes. Personally, I think that there is a good case to be made for everyone at this point. What Djokovic lacks in slams, he makes up for in the mere fact that he has had to break through both Nadal and Federer to win his slams. Still, I think this will be a better conversation when they all retire.
Third set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-6 0-1* Dominic Thiem: Thiem sensed an opportunity here and he has taken it. At 30-15, he snuck into the net and put away a lovely angled backhand drop volley winner. Then he crunched a forehand down the line winner to bring up break point. Although he missed the break point with a quite horrendous forehand miss as Djokovic stood stranded at the net, Djokovic gave up two bad unforced errors to hand over the early break.
Djokovic is particularly struggling on his serve. He opened the game with a double fault and he keeps on falling over his follow-through as he misses first serves. Thiem has to run with this momentum for as long as he can because, with Djokovic, it usually doesn’t last.
Here is a lovely photo gallery from two great weeks in Melbourne.
“Great job, man. You made yourself famous. Well done.” - Novak Djokovic to umpire Damien Dumusois after his two time violation calls.
Dominic Thiem takes the second set to level Djokovic at 4-6 6-4
Thiem had no problems serving out the first set there, breezing through the hold to 15 with good serving and a couple of enormous forehands. As Djokovic’s mood continues to swing, he has been cool and focused even when struggling with his own form. A well deserved set.
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 4-5* Dominic Thiem: Oh dear. Just as it seemed that Djokovic would wrestle the momentum, Djokovic found himself down 15-30 after a double fault.
At 15-30, Djokovic was given his first time violation and the crowd cheered. He responded with a drop shot into the net. At 15-40. Djokovic immediately received another time violation, losing his first serve as a result. He immediately sprayed a forehand long.
As he walked past the chair, Djokovic gave the umpire a sarcastic thumbs up. A complete mess of a game. Meanwhile, Thiem is cool and relaxed across the net. He will serve for the set.
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 *4-4 Dominic Thiem: Djokovic immediately chased after a break, moving to 15-30 and putting immense pressure on the Thiem serve. Thiem recovered extremely well, playing a beautiful forehand dropshot winner after dragging Djokovic out of the court with bruising forehands. At 30-30, he found a forehand on-two punch to bring up game point.
But from 40-30, Thiem missed a couple of first serves and sprayed three loose errors in a row: a forehand error and then two backhands errors. Across the net, Djokovic is grunting louder, finding more depth on his strokes and refusing to miss. He is fully dialled in and now he is back on serve.
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 3-4* Dominic Thiem: Djokovic pieces together another swift hold to 15. He looks a lot more focused and Thiem is going to have to serve extremely well in order to see this set out.
Here is the report on Joe Salisbury’s Australian Open doubles title. He now has a bit more money (around 192,500 pounds) to put towards moving out of his sister’s Peckham flat.
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 *2-4 Dominic Thiem: A big moment here. Thiem once again found himself down break point after missing another backhand down the line at 30-15 before double faulting at 30-30.
From break point down, Thiem stepped up. He scuppered it with a brutal inside out forehand winner and then he found an excellent service winner at deuce. He closed off the game with a sickly sweet low backhand slice, drawing a slice error from Djokovic.
Djokovic is smiling bitterly and shaking his head. This is a different match.
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 2-3* Dominic Thiem: A much better hold for Djokovic there. Easy and businesslike, sealed with a lovely combo of backhands.
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 *1-3 Dominic Thiem: Djokovic’s level is finally out of the stratosphere and the fact that he is openly seething isn’t helping.
Djokovic opened the game two bad errors and then a weak drop shot-lob combo, with Thiem easily dispatching the overhead. After some excellent defense from Thiem at 40-15, a last ditch Djokovic dropshot landed just wide. It was called in, but Thiem rescued the point with a glorious challenge. Everything is going his way now.
Updated
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 1-2* Dominic Thiem: Thiem breaks in set two! Thiem finally managed to open up on his trusty backhand down the line early in the game, crushing one such winner to bring up 15-30. At 30-30, Djokovic then double faulted to bring up a break point. This time, a flashy Thiem backhand went well wide on the break.
Djokovic saved the second break point with a serve and forehand combo, but on the third, he bizarrely went for a 194kmh second serve and he missed. Game on.
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 *1-1 Dominic Thiem: Thiem opens with a rare love hold of his own despite landing only one first serve. He opened with some incredible defence, chasing down at least three shots that seemed almost certain winners, including an overhead, before grinding out the unforced error. Helpfully, Thiem’s one first serve was an ace on game point.
First set stats:
Djokovic:
First serves in: 80%,
First serve points won: 65%,
Second serve points won: 80%
Receiving points won: 46%
9 winners, 14 errors.
Thiem:
First serves in: 73%
First serve points won: 63%
Second serve points won: 23%
Receiving points won: 32%
12 winners, 16 unforced errors
Updated
Second set: Novak Djokovic 6-4 1-0* Dominic Thiem: An easy love game from Djokovic to begin, which included a glorious backhand down the line at 30-0. The pressure is all on Thiem right now.
Novak Djokovic takes the first set 6-4
Sadly for Thiem, that was a mess of his own making. Thiem opened with two bad unforced errors and although he served extremely well to move back to 30-30, he then tripped over a forehand as he moved towards the net and handed Djokovic a set point.
Thiem did extremely well on the set point, dispatching a couple of enormous forehands and then forcing an errant passing shot from Djokovic by moving to the net. But after digging himself to game point, he then threw in two bad errors and followed them with a double fault on set point #2.
Six errors in a 4-5 game. He knows that it’s not good enough.
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The crowd is very rowdy right now and Novak is not pleased. Check out his reaction after this excellent overhead.
UNRELENTING TENNIS! 👏
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) February 2, 2020
Simply sensational from both Thiem and Djokovic
🇦🇺 Watch the #AusOpen final LIVE
📺 Eurosport 1
📱💻🖥 Eurosport Player: https://t.co/0Fa7uXMVB9 pic.twitter.com/x7WI7H9WcH
First set: Novak Djokovic 5-4* Dominic Thiem: The points are getting longer and tougher on Djokovic’s serve, but the Serb gets back on track with an essential hold. After a gruelling rally ended with a Thiem backhand into the net at 30-15, Djokovic held with an unreturned serve.
Thiem’s backhand still hasn’t fully arrived in this match. His down the line backhand is going to be essential to flipping these long points in his favour and it needs to start firing. He will serve to stay in the first set.
First set: Novak Djokovic *4-4 Dominic Thiem: Thiem survives another difficult hold while under immense pressure from the Djokovic return. This time, from 30-15, Djokovic came up with an incredible inside out forehand to dispatch an excellent low, short slice from Thiem. At 30-30, he produced a brilliant forehand crosscourt return to bring up break point.
Thiem saved the break point with aplomb, sweeping into the net to clean up the short ball from a big forehand down the line. He found a big serve from deuce, then he closed it off with another foray to the net and a solid overhead.
Two years ago, Thiem would not have even considered finishing either point at the net. He is a different player now.
First set: Novak Djokovic 4-3* Dominic Thiem: Finally, Thiem gets stuck into some of the lengthier rallies and he immediately breaks back! At 15-15, he ground Djokovic down until the Serb sent a forehand well wide, then he stepped into the baseline and broke up a gruelling 24 stroke rally fantastic down the line backhand. On the first break point, Djokovic dumped a backhand into the net.
Suddenly, we’re back on serve.
Return points won:
Dominic Thiem: 3
Novak Djokovic: 13
First set: Novak Djokovic *4-2 Dominic Thiem: Thiem digs out another tight hold. Thiem was en-route to an easy game after firing an ace to move up 40-0. He found a first serve, he lined up a backhand down the line, and then sent it just long. Some great returning and baseline pressure from Djokovic elicited a couple of forced errors, pulling him back to deuce.
Thiem responded with a great serve and forehand combo, but Djokovic dragged him back to deuce again. Finally, Thiem found an ace on the second deuce and a Djokovic backhand error gave him a second game.
First set: Novak Djokovic 4-1* Dominic Thiem: All the action so far is on Dominic Thiem’s serve. Once again, Djokovic breezes through another service game. After arriving at 40-0 thanks to more excellent serving, he took his second game point with a glorious backhand down the line winner after a long rally.
First set: Novak Djokovic *3-1 Dominic Thiem: Thiem digs out an excellent first hold, but even that was so difficult. Djokovic has been so aggressive early on and he is controlling far more of the rallies than Thiem expected.
Djokovic sent a forehand wide at 30-30, then immediately responded by crunching a crosscourt forehand winner. He went on the prowl again at deuce, but Thiem came up with some incredible defence, throwing up a beautiful lob over Djokovic’s head and then moving forward to dispatch Djokovic’s tweener. He held with a nice serve-forehand combo.
Updated
First set: Novak Djokovic 3-0* Dominic Thiem: One of the big stories this week has been Djokovic’s improved serving and he showed it there as he breezed through the following service game with ample first serves to consolidate the break. He sealing the hold with another unreturned serve.
First set: Novak Djokovic *2-0 Dominic Thiem: Djokovic breaks! What a tough game that was. Thiem worked his way to 40-15, but Djokovic reeled him back to deuce with an excellent point-ending backhand return at 40-15 and then a forehand error from the Austrian.
Thiem generated two further game points, but Djokovic scuppered both before winning a crazy cat-and-mouse point at deuce. After a long rally, he drew out a forehand error from Thiem on his first break point to take the lead.
A couple of errors from Thiem early on, but Djokovic is already not letting him breathe.
Updated
First set: Novak Djokovic 1-0* Dominic Thiem: A fine start for the defending champion, who pieced together an easy hold to 15. Djokovic drew out a forehand error from Thiem in a long rally at 15-0, then he slammed down successive aces from 30-15 to hold.
Ready? Play. We begin. Djokovic to serve.
Dominic Thiem’s growth on hard courts in context:
Thiem points Clay vs Hard
— enrico maria riva (@enricomariariva) February 2, 2020
Bresnik Era:
2014 Hard 549 Clay 430
2015 Hard 635 Clay 1030
2016 Hard 1580 Clay 1830
2017 Hard 1400 Clay 2570
2018 Hard 1685 Clay 2760
Massu Era:
2019 Hard 3325 Clay 2590
The players have arrived on- court. Djokovic won the toss and should serve first. This should be good.
Joe Salisbury will rise to 4 in the world rankings.
— Russell Fuller (@russellcfuller) February 2, 2020
If he’s top 10 in June, he will get to choose a partner for the Olympics.
Could that be Andy Murray? “Potentially, yes .. if he is fit that is definitely something I would love to do,“ he has just told @bbc5live
Dominic Thiem on Novak Djokovic:
I mean, yeah, it’s true, I won I think more of the last encounters than he did. But I think it doesn’t count so much. It’s absolutely his comfort zone here. He always plays his best tennis in Australia since many, many years. So I’m expecting that as well in the finals.
All I can do is doing my best again, playing great tennis again, and of course take a look at the last matches we had as well in Paris and also London, try to repeat the good stuff what I did there.
..
I think I have to keep a good balance. Of course, I have to risk a lot. I have to go for many shots. At the same time, of course, not too much. That’s a very thin line. In the last match against him, hit that line perfectly in London.
Of course, going to take a look at that match, how I played, and try to repeat it. But for sure he’s the favorite. I mean, he won seven titles here, never lost a final, going for his eighth one.
I mean, I’m feeling good on the court. I’m playing great tennis. So try to be at my absolutely best on Sunday.
Novak Djokovic on Dominic Thiem:
Well, Dominic won our last match we played against each other, a close one in London. He played a terrific match against Rafa last night. I watched that. Definitely one of the best players in the world. Deserves to be where he is.
It seems like he’s improved his game a lot on hard courts, because his game is more suitable to the slower surfaces. The clay of course being his favorite surface.
But winning Indian Wells I think last year, beating Roger in the finals, that probably gave him a lot of confidence that he can win big tournaments on other surfaces, as well.
..
I don’t think he’s really anymore next generation. He’s been around for many years. Now already he’s an established top-5, top-10 player. Played a couple of Grand Slam finals, won Masters events, played finals of World Tour Finals. He’s already there.
It’s just a matter of one match here and there that can potentially give him a Grand Slam title, that he can actually get in the mix of top three in the world.
He definitely has the game. He has the experience now. He has the strength. He has all the means to really be there. He has improved in the last 12 months playing on the hard court without a doubt, and the results are showing that.
Here are some highlights of their meeting at the end of last year in London. A not insignificant stat: Thiem is now 7-2 against the big 3 over the past couple of years. He is competing with them consistently and now it is a case of beating two of them in one tournament.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head 6-4 but Thiem has won four of their last five meetings. Four of those five meetings came on clay, including two victories for Thiem at Roland Garros, but Thiem finally made a hard court breakthrough against Djokovic at the end of last year as he surprised the Serb with a 6-7(5) 6-3 7-6(5) win in the round robin stages of the ATP Finals.
It was an incredible match and performance from Thiem, who blasted winners for three hours and was mostly clean off the ground yet he still just about survived. It shows that Thiem is more than capable of competing with one of the best hardcourt players of his time, but it also shows the stratospheric level that will likely be required over three sets to beat him. It is so difficult.
So, what is on the line today?
- Novak Djokovic is chasing his record extending 8th Australian Open title, his 17th slam title which would put him within two slams of Nadal and three of Federer, a return to the number one spot and his 78th title.
- Thiem is looking to become the first man born after 1988 to win a slam and the second Austrian ever after Thomas Muster, who he sacked last week. Thiem would rise to third in the rankings with a win and, incredibly, around 1000 points from Djokovic in the rankings. He would be the first new slam champion since Cilic in the 2014 US Open.
Still, a great couple of weeks for the Aussie wildcards. It will be difficult to top a slam final on home soil.
"We always love starting the year here, hopefully it can be a stepping stone to bigger and better things for us this year.
— TennisAustralia (@TennisAustralia) February 2, 2020
"Hopefully we can hold the winner's trophy up, but not today. Thanks so much Luke, for playing with me - I love it out here with you."
- @MaxPurcell98 pic.twitter.com/7K56xS7UL4
Earlier today, Britain’s Joe Salisbury became a slam champion for the first time as he and Rajeev Ram of the United States defeated Aussie wildcards Max Purcell and Luke Saville in the men’s doubles final.
"The first of many, maybe?"
— Eurosport UK (@Eurosport_UK) February 2, 2020
Congratulations, @joesalisbury92 - you're a Grand Slam champion!
The 🇬🇧 and partner @RajeevRam have won the men's doubles against Saville and Purcell, 6-4, 6-2! #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/olaDirQuZg
Preamble
Hello! Welcome to our live coverage of the 2020 Australian Open men’s final as first time finalist Dominic Thiem takes to the court against seven time champion Novak Djokovic.
What a ride this fortnight has been for Dominic Thiem. He started the tournament with a five set second round scare against 140 ranked wildcard Alex Bolt and shortly after he took the decision to sack Thomas Muster, the Austrian legend he had appointed as a secondary coach, 2 weeks into their partnership and in the middle of a slam. Since then he has improved to play some great tennis but it has seldom been easy. After a desperately tight four set match against Nadal, in which he won three tiebreak sets and produced one of the best wins of his career, he overcame Alexander Zverev in four nervy sets. Thiem’s quality has been clear for a long time, but it is only over the past eleven months that he has finally put his game together on hard courts. He is flattening out his strokes more, standing closer to the baseline, finishing more points at the net and slowly turning himself in the complete player.
Still, none of this gets any easier. Tonight he will be facing the defending champion on the court that has defined him. Novak Djokovic may not have established quite the mind-numbing dominance on Rod Laver Arena as Rafael Nadal on Court Philippe Chatrier in Paris, the opponent and site of Thiem’s two other slam finals, but it is damn near close. Djokovic is chasing a record extending 8th title and after producing arguably the performance of his career when he eviscerated Rafael Nadal in last year’s final, the scariest part is that it seems like he has improved. He is serving even better, his second serve speeds have improved dramatically, and he is keeping the world at arms length off the ground. Although he wasn’t always efficient in a strange semi-final against an injured Federer, after two weeks in Australia he has lost only one set of tennis and he hasn’t come close to being troubled. We will see if Thiem can change that in the final.
