MELBOURNE -- Novak Djokovic defeated Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open final and became the tournament champion for the eighth time in his career
Source: B92
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Djokovic went through a dramatic match and, after losing the third set, fought back, beating his Austrian opponent in five sets -- 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Djokovic, who remains unbeaten in finals on Rod Laver Arena, now has 17 slam titles, only three short of record holder Roger Federer, and will reclaim the world No 1 ranking from Nadal on Monday.
Novak confirmed his immortality in Australia by the fact that he never lost the finals, and despite the fact that he seemed on the edge of defeat after three sets played, nevertheless, he was able to return and triumph in great style.
He also increased the advantage over the Austrian by 7-4 in head to head matches, and in the number of Slams, with his 17th Grand Slam title, Novak came closer to Rafa, who won 19, and Roger, who won 20 grand slams.
Novak's emotional victory speech
Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images
Novak addressed the audience saying: "Congratulations to Dominic for an amazing tournament. It wasn't to be tonight. Tough luck. You were very close to win it, you have a lot of time in your career to get one of the Grand Slam trophies. More than one".
He added: "I would like to thank my team, my family, my brother is here - thank you for coming all the way to Australia for some quality brother time and hopefully you enjoyed it".
But then after thanking his family, and in particular his brother for making the trip down under to see him, Djokovic’s mind turned to tragedy.
In particular, the devastating bushfires that have ravaged Australia since December, as well as the death of his close friend Kobe Bryant.
“You know, there was some devastating things that started 2020,” Djokovic said.
“With huge bushfires here in Australia. Conflicts some parts of the world. People dying every day, you know. Obviously one person that I considered close in my life and was a mentor to me, Kobe Bryant passed away with his daughter.”
“I would just like to, you know, to I guess say that this is a reminder to all of us that we should stick together more than ever now,” he said.
“Be with our families. Stay close to the people that love you, that care about you. Of course, we are part of professional sport, we compete and we try our best. But you know, obviously there are more important things in life and it is important things in life and it is important to be conscious and humble about things that are happening around you”, Djokovic ended his emotional speech with this message.
It was one of his greatest ever comebacks. Djokovic showed superb mental strength once again, for the first time winning a Grand Slam final after trailing two sets to one - and puts himself closer to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the number of Grand Slam titles.
Congratulations to Novak Djokovic for winning yet another [8th] Australian Open Grand Slam Title! May your victory and determination continue to inspire athletes from both Serbia and Republika Srpska to achieve success within their own respective sporting disciplines well into the future.
(ST, 2 February 2020 23:01)
You have written history and showed the world how competitive Serbia is on the sporting world stage by winning the Tennis W.C with your Serb colleagues and just a week later you won the Australian Open for a record eighth time.
You are a sporting legend and icon and we Serbs are proud of you.
(Smart Serb, 2 February 2020 21:14)
You have written history and showed the world how competitive Serbia is on the sporting world stage by winning the Tennis W.C with your Serb colleagues and just a week later you won the Australian Open for a record eighth time.
You are a sporting legend and icon and we Serbs are proud of you.
(Smart Serb, 2 February 2020 21:14)
Congratulations to Novak Djokovic for winning yet another [8th] Australian Open Grand Slam Title! May your victory and determination continue to inspire athletes from both Serbia and Republika Srpska to achieve success within their own respective sporting disciplines well into the future.
(ST, 2 February 2020 23:01)
Congratulations to Novak Djokovic for winning yet another [8th] Australian Open Grand Slam Title! May your victory and determination continue to inspire athletes from both Serbia and Republika Srpska to achieve success within their own respective sporting disciplines well into the future.
(ST, 2 February 2020 23:01)
You have written history and showed the world how competitive Serbia is on the sporting world stage by winning the Tennis W.C with your Serb colleagues and just a week later you won the Australian Open for a record eighth time.
You are a sporting legend and icon and we Serbs are proud of you.
(Smart Serb, 2 February 2020 21:14)
