Australian Open 2020: With hard-fought victory over Dominic Thiem, Novak Djokovic shows what he does best

It is unusual for a champion of his stature, but Novak Djokovic still plays like he has a point to prove. Forever judged by the achievements of the two men ahead of him — Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal — Djokovic is the perennial challenger, and he competes with the fire of one. Possibly given the biggest odds in tennis — to unseat Federer and Nadal from their throne of absolute dominance — Djokovic has become a master at overturning them.

The 32-year-old, who was in his 26th Major final, found himself in new territory during Sunday’s Australian Open final against Dominic Thiem. Djokovic had never won a five-set match after being two sets to one down: his record stood at 0-7.

And yet, not a soul in Rod Laver Arena, or those watching on TV believed the second seed couldn’t do it. They had seen him wipe out two match points for Federer in the Wimbledon final only a few months ago, and play some nerveless tennis to claim victory. On Sunday, he had lost two of the first two sets, his energy was dropping, mind wavering and was up against an opponent who was absolutely belting the ball around the court. But Djokovic was not done. He was ready to work and he was ready to fight.

Even though he struggled to find his A game throughout the match, the Serb ground out a 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 over first-time Australian Open finalist Thiem. It wasn’t his most assured performance but it was enough to bag a 17th Grand Slam title, which puts him three short of Federer and two of Nadal in their race to the most Majors. This was also Djokovic’s record-extending eighth Australian Open title and helped him rise to World No 1 again on Monday.

“It is unreal what you are doing throughout all this years,” Thiem told Djokovic during the trophy presentation. “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.”

The Austrian, who is considered ‘young’ in men’s tennis at 26, was playing the best tennis of his life. Swinging between full-throated aggression and rock-solid defence, Thiem had beaten World No 1 Nadal in a tiring quarter-final and then subdued Next Gen star Alexander Zverev in the semis to make his first final outside of Roland Garros for the very first time. And, despite a few doubts, Thiem did not look physically drained as he took court for Sunday’s final.

Make no mistake, the Austrian fifth seed, his hair dyed blond and forehand built to sting, came here to win. He never backed down from his game plan, hit more aces (12 to Djokovic’s nine), slammed more winners (55 to Djokovic’s 46) and had as many unforced errors (57) as his more-accomplished rival.

On the other hand, the Serb was a meek imitation of the player who had dropped only six games and made only nine unforced errors against Nadal in last year’s final. Having started the match confidently against Thiem, he let the Austrian take charge of the court with his forehand. Djokovic’s fans and his entourage, including coach Goran Ivanisevic, were dumbfounded as he made some uncharacteristic mistakes.

The Serb had a meltdown at 4-4 in the second set. After he served a double-fault to give Thiem a 15-30 edge, Djokovic was given a time violation warning. He sent a limp drop shot into the net to go down 15-40. Once again, he was given a time violation and because it was his second, he was docked a first serve. The defending champion sent a forehand long, giving Thiem a crucial break in the ninth game. At the changeover, he tapped the chair umpire’s foot and told him, ‘you made yourself famous’.

He continued to struggle physically and lost serve twice in the third set.

“My energy just completely collapsed. Every time I would toss a ball I would feel dizzy,” Djokovic explained. “(The doctor) told me that maybe I have a few conditions but there’s not much I can do besides get energy bars and liquids. She told me I was dehydrated so I tried to drink as much as I could. Tonight it was a toe-to-toe battle, I was on the brink of losing that match. I didn’t feel great on the court at all. Dominic started dominating from the back of the court and won two sets pretty easily.”

But once Djokovic returned from a bathroom break at the end of the third set, he had a little spring in his step.

Maybe this is not where he wanted to be, cornered on the blue court he owned, but Djokovic knew he could fight out of it.

He started playing some proactive tennis, hitting his first serves a lot more consistently and coming up finish off the volleys. Djokovic, known for his pin-point perfect shot-making from the baseline, came up to the net 29 times in the match, and won 24 points.

Energy surging back in his legs, Djokovic started making a lot more returns and challenging Thiem on almost every service game. Though the Austrian, with expansive shots off both wings, had the more picture-worthy shots, Djokovic, as ever, had the right shot at the right moment. The damage his cross-court backhands did was invisible, and won’t shine on any scoresheet, but it was telling. Once he had pocketed the fourth set, with a break for 5-3, it never looked like Thiem could steal it back. When the Austrian had a break point, to restore 2-2 parity having lost his serve the previous game, he hammered a short forehand into the net. ‘Nein, nein’, he shouted towards his box, knowing the match was fast slipping away from him. Djokovic consolidated the break, and held on to it fiercely, to serve out the match at 6-4. Thiem had melted under the pressure, Djokovic, as usual, had thrived in it.

It wasn’t his prettiest, or most perfect, performance. But the Serb still managed to carve out a win. Having dominated the last decade, with 15 Majors, Djokovic has started the new one with another hard-fought Slam title. He is becoming increasingly difficult to beat in the battle of wills.