Novak Djokovic was looking weary and worn down. He felt dizzy and trailed Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open final — miscues mounting, deficit growing.
Djokovic did what he does, though. He refused to lose, waited for an opportunity to pounce and found his best tennis when necessary. Even threw in a wrinkle, serve-and-volleying twice when facing break point.
Regaining his stamina and strokes and showing gutsy creativity, Djokovic came back to edge Thiem, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, on Sunday night for an eighth Australian Open title, second in a row, and 17th Grand Slam trophy overall.
“I was on the brink of losing the match. Dominic … disrupted my rhythm in my game at one point. He was a better player,” Djokovic said. “Probably one point — and one shot — separated us tonight.”
Djokovic improved his record in semifinals and finals at Melbourne Park to 16-0 and assured himself of returning to No. 1 in the rankings, replacing Rafael Nadal.
No other man in the history of tennis has won this hard-court tournament more than six times. Only Roger Federer, with 20, and Nadal, with 19, have acquired more men’s Grand Slam singles trophies than Djokovic.
“Amazing achievement. Unreal what you’re doing throughout all these years,” said the fifth-seeded Thiem, who is 0-3 in major finals. “You and also two other guys, I think you brought men’s tennis to a complete new level.”
Addressing Thiem, Djokovic said: “I am sure you will definitely get one of the Grand Slam trophies. More than one.”
Thiem, an Austrian who is 26, was the runner-up to Nadal at Roland Garros each of the previous two years and again was trying to become the first man born in the 1990s to win a major singles title.
Instead, the Big Three have won 13 straight Slams and 56 of the last 67.
