He's No Joke

Two of the greatest players in tennis history,
made history Sunday night in Melbourne.

It was brutal, gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and triumphant.

In Rod Laver's fortress, two of the greatest professional tennis players of this generation battled it out in not only the longest match in Australian Open history, but the longest for a Grand Slam final.

It took five hours, 53 minutes, but (1) Novak Djovokic continued his recent dominance over (2) Rafael Nadal, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (7-5), 7-5, becoming only the fifth player since the Open Era to win three straight Grand Slam finals and four out of the last five.

After Nadal captured the first set with Djovokic still feeling the effects of his marathon match with Andy Murray just two nights earlier, the 2011 Player of the Year found his rhythm and took control of the second and third set, winning them both convincingly.

We'd seen this seen before.

But with the crowd firmly in Nadal's corner, his trademark personality of tenacity and heart turned the tide, at least for the moment.

Facing a two set to one deficit and Djovokic leading the fourth set four games to three, Nadal dug deep. The 10-time Grand Slam champion finned off three straight break points down 40-love to hold serve and knot the set at four games apiece.

The fourth would eventually be decided by a tiebreak with Nadal dropping to his knees after Djovokic's shot went wide, forcing a decisive fifth set. In their previous 29 career meetings with Nadal holding a 16-13 advantage, the both had to play a fifth set.

Nadal imposed his will on the fifth, breaking Djovokic the second chance he got and eventually going up four games to two. But it was a shot that Nadal makes in his sleep that will give hime nightmares for the rest of his life. Leading the game 30-15 and Djovokic on the ropes, the Spaniard missed an easy backhand that would have had him one point away from taking a commanding five games to two lead.

Instead, Djovokic gathered his fifth wind and got the look in eyes that his opponents saw all of 2011. A look that lead him to a 10-1 record against Nadal and Roger Federer last year. The look of a champion.

Djovokic would break Nadal twice in the matches' final six games, seizing the lead and his third career Australian Open. He has now won seven straight matches against Nadal, all coming in finals, 14 straight Australian Open matches and 20 straight Grand Slam matches.

The 24-year-old Serbian had never won back-to-back five-set matches in a major tournament until he thwarted Murray and outran Nadal.

The two have now combined for the last eight Grand Slam titles.

As for Nadal, he becomes first player in the Open Era to lose three straight Grand Slam finals, but has nothing to hang his head about. Wearing his emotions on his sleeves, Nadal's poise and graciousness in defeat is what makes him a true champion and heartbeat of professional tennis.

Usually it was Nadal's high energy and overall physical condition that has enabled him to outlast his opponent. This time is was Djovokic, beating him at his own game.