Novak Djokovic battles back from set down to claim eighth Australian Open title

FP Sports • February 2, 2020, 20:03:46 IST

Novak Djokovic won his record-extending eighth Australian Open championship and 17th Grand Slam title overall by beating Dominic Thiem in five sets in the final

Novak Djokovic won his record-extending eighth Australian Open championship and 17th Grand Slam title overall by beating Dominic Thiem in five sets in the final. AP

Novak Djokovic took the first set in the Australian Open final against fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem, after breaking Thiem’s serve in the last game to clinch the set 6-4 in 52 minutes. AP

After surrendering the first 6-4 with a double-fault on set point, Thiem broke Djokovic’s serve in the third game and then fended off a breakpoint in the sixth game before dropping serve in the eighth to make it 4-4. AP

Fifth-seeded Thiem broke again in the next game after Djokovic was first warned by chair umpire Damien Dumusois for exceeding the 25-second serve clock at 15-30 and then penalized with a fault on break point for exceeding the time allowance again. Thiem then held to win the set. AP

Dominic Thiem then won the third set to lead the Australian Open final against Novak Djokovic by two sets to one. Djokovic looked drained, and after losing the set, took a lengthy medical timeout. AP