1. Djokovic Is A Step Above The Field
Novak Djokovic underwent surgery on his right elbow after last year’s Australian Open, and a return to the top of the sport was no guarantee. Last May, Djokovic’s record for the season sat at 6-6. 

Just eight months later, Djokovic is the clear No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings. On Monday, when the new standings are released, Djokovic will lead World No. 2 Nadal by 2,635 points and World No. 3 Alexander Zverev by 4,480 points. The Serbian has won 36 of his past 39 matches, and 57 of 64 since his 6-6 start to 2018.

And perhaps it wasn’t that he won the tournament in Melbourne, but how he did it. In the semi-finals, Djokovic lost just four games against Lucas Pouille, marking the seventh time in the Open Era that a man had lost four games or less in a Grand Slam semi-final.

Then, with the championship on the line and a legend in Rafael Nadal across the net, the 31-year-old made just nine unforced errors in three sets to clinch a record-breaking seventh victory in Melbourne. It was Nadal’s 25th major final, and never before had the 17-time Slam champion failed to win a set.

“Twelve months ago it was highly unlikely I would be holding three Slams,” said Djokovic, who also triumphed at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2018. “I just have to be conscious of that and understand that I’m blessed.”

2. Nadal’s Injury Lay-off Didn’t Affect His Form
Nobody expected Djokovic to defeat Nadal in straight sets in the final, and that result does not take away from the Spaniard’s efforts this fortnight. After all, when he arrived at the Australian Open, Nadal had not played a tour-level match since retiring in last year’s US Open semi-finals against Juan Martin del Potro.

You would not have been able to tell that Nadal missed four months by watching him bulldoze his way through the bottom half of the draw. The World No. 2 did not drop a set en route to the final, the seventh time he has done so at a major.

And most importantly, Nadal looks fit and ready for another strong season on the ATP Tour. He holds a 116-15 record since the start of the 2017 Australian Open, so a loss against Djokovic won’t dim his spirits.

“I had a great two weeks, being honest, I can’t be sad,” Nadal said. “I played against a player that today was better than me. There’s no doubt about that. That’s all.”

3. Tsitsipas, Tiafoe Lead #NextGenATP Charge
There were a lot of firsts at this Australian Open for the #NextGenATP, with some of the world’s leading 21-and-under players leaving their marks at Melbourne Park. Leading the way was reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, who advanced to his maiden major semi-final.

This time last year, the Greek had just six tour-level wins to his name. But Tsitsipas stunned Roger Federer in the fourth round and backed that up with an impressive four-set victory against in-form Doha titlist Roberto Bautista Agut before falling short against Nadal. On Monday, Tsitsipas will climb to a career-high No. 12 in the ATP Rankings, 52 weeks on from sitting at No. 83.

Frances Tiafoe also made his biggest breakthrough yet, battling to his first Slam quarter-final. In his first 11 Grand Slam appearances, the American reached the third round just once. So beating fifth seed Kevin Anderson and 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion Grigor Dimitrov en route to the last eight was impressive.

#NextGenATP Aussies Alex de Minaur and Alexei Popyrin thrilled their home crowd with runs to the third round, and Canadian Denis Shapovalov took one of the two sets Djokovic lost in the event.

4. Pouille, With Mauresmo In His Corner, Making A Push
Entering the Australian Open, Pouille had lost four tour-level matches in a row. Less than a year after cracking the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time, Pouille was the 28th seed in Melbourne.

But with new coach Amelie Mauresmo by his side, Pouille went on a memorable run to the semi-finals, where eventual champion Djokovic stopped him in three sets. Two especially impressive wins came against 11th seed Borna Coric and former World No. 3 Milos Raonic.

Pouille had lost all three of his FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes against Raonic heading into their quarter-final. In fact, the Frenchman had not won a set in any of those meetings. But he jumped to a two-set lead and battled past the Canadian in four sets to make his maiden major semi-final.

“I’m very happy the way I played and with the way I got into this tournament, this beginning of the year,” Pouille said. “I think it was the best start possible. It gives me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year.”

5. Herbert/Mahut Make History
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut arrived in Melbourne with an opportunity to complete their career Grand Slam. The Frenchmen had triumphed as a team at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. But an Australian Open trophy was still missing from their trophy cases.

After battling through three-setters in the second and third round, Herbert and Mahut found their stride, winning their final eight sets of the tournament to capture glory on Rod Laver Arena, ultimately defeating two-time Nitto ATP Finals winners Henri Kontinen and John Peers.

“We knew when we won Roland Garros [last year] that [the Australian Open] was the one missing, so for sure it added maybe a special motivation when entering to this tournament. After, it’s always tricky because when you want something, you have to make the good decisions and to be in the good state of mind to be good on court,” Herbert said. “I think we wanted it, but we also wanted to be good on court in each match and we focused on the game, and that’s why maybe today we could achieve what we achieved here at the Australian Open.”

Novak Djokovic made history on Sunday evening, setting the record for Australian Open titles with seven after defeating Rafael Nadal in the championship match. After his victory, the Serbian sent an exclusive message to fans in appreciation of their support.

“I want to thank everyone for believing in me,” Djokovic said. “Thank you once again. I love you all, and see you around the world!”

Watch Novak’s full message:

? @DjokerNole fans…

The 2019 #AusOpen champion has a message for you ? pic.twitter.com/AVjgES1V5E

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) January 27, 2019

In 1993, Novak Djokovic was in Kopaonik, a city in the mountains of southern Serbia. Nobody in his family had ever touched a tennis racquet. But he remembers at six years old watching Pete Sampras clinch his first Wimbledon title.

Tennis might not have been in Djokovic’s blood, but witnessing that moment planted a dream in his mind. How cool would it be to do that one day?

Sampras tallied 14 Grand Slam titles, making him the all-time leader in major trophies when he retired in 2002. But seventeen years later, Djokovic’s dream has become more than a reality. The Serbian dominated Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the Australian Open final on Sunday evening to claim his 15th Slam victory, surpassing Sampras to move into third on the all-time list.

“It was definitely a sign of destiny to start playing tennis, to aspire to be as good as Pete,” Djokovic said, reflecting on watching the American as a child. “To surpass him with Grand Slam titles, I’m speechless.”

But that’s not the only history the World No. 1 made with his stunning performance against the second seed. Djokovic now stands alone in the record books with seven Australian Open victories, breaking a tie with Roger Federer and Roy Emerson. After the match, Djokovic met with a host of Aussie legends — Emerson, Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Frank Sedgman — who congratulated him on his triumph.

“Mr. Emerson said he’s pissed with me because I broke his record,” Djokovic said, cracking a smile. “It was the most beautiful, most expensive photo of the night, without a doubt, standing with those four legends… I’ll definitely cherish that forever.”

It’s hard to believe that at this time last year, Djokovic was at perhaps his lowest low. A vexing right elbow injury forced the right-hander to undergo surgery after a fourth-round loss at the Australian Open. And by May, he owned just a 6-6 record for the season, at one point losing three matches in a row. That was something he had not done in more than a decade.

But ironically, Djokovic’s breakthrough came against Nadal in a five-set classic in the Wimbledon semi-finals. That, as he has said, was the turning point. Djokovic would emerge victorious at SW19, complete his Career Golden Masters in Cincinnati, lift the US Open trophy and now he has returned to the Melbourne pedestal.

Djokovic is very much back on top of the tennis world. And on Monday, he will hold a 2,635-point lead over No. 2 Nadal in the ATP Rankings. One can argue this Australian Open was his most impressive performance during his comeback. The final was his 22nd FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Nadal that lasted at least three completed sets. And of all those clashes, this was the shortest. Djokovic struck just nine unforced errors under the utmost pressure to defeat Nadal in just two hours and four minutes. The Spaniard had not lost a set entering the championship match.

Watch ATP Uncovered: Sampras On Djokovic

“It ranks right at the top. Under the circumstances, playing against Nadal, such an important match, yeah, I mean, it’s amazing,” Djokovic said. “I always believe I can play this way, visualise myself playing this way. At this level, as I said, under the circumstances, it was truly a perfect match.”

For now, Djokovic will relish the moment. But while the Serbian admits they remain far away, Nadal’s 17 Grand Slams and Federer’s 20 are well within reach. 

“I am aware that making history of the sport that I truly love is something special. Of course, it motivates me. Playing Grand Slams, the biggest ATP events, is my utmost priority in this season and in seasons to come,” Djokovic said.

“I do want to definitely focus myself on continuing to improve my game and maintaining the overall well-being that I have mentally, physically, emotionally, so I will be able to compete at such a high level for the years to come, and have a shot at eventually getting closer to Roger’s record.” 

Last year, Djokovic left Melbourne after a shocking loss. This time, he departs after an exhilarating victory.

“I wasn’t playing well, I wasn’t feeling good on the court, I was questioning everything, I was doubting whether I will be able to play everyone on this level because I didn’t know to what extent the operation of my elbow would affect my game.

“It was a huge learning curve for me, just the whole process was very special. I embraced the journey. I am very grateful to go through it. I would never change anything if I could turn back the time because things are just the way they should be.”

At the end of the day, this was all once just a dream. Djokovic was a little boy in Serbia, with no tennis ties in his family, watching Sampras on television. Now Djokovic is the star that children throughout the world are watching through their screens, dreaming of becoming like him one day.

“I just have to be conscious of that and understand that I’m blessed.”

Unleash on the strength. Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open Sunday evening by doing exactly what conventional wisdom says you shouldn’t do – play to your opponent’s best shot.

It should be a misprint, but Nadal, who had won 59 per cent of his baseline points coming into the final, only won 29.5 per cent (26/88) of his baseline points against the Super Serbian. Djokovic completely dismantled Nadal’s baseline game by going hard after his forehand.

Nadal had hit 100 forehand winners and 116 forehand errors to the final, but that ratio didn’t hold true against the World No. 1 on Sunday night at Melbourne Park. Nadal struck 11 forehand winners in the final, but committed 28 forehand errors as Djokovic constantly played wide through the Ad court to attack Nadal’s running forehand.

The theory is simple. Nadal is the best player in the world at running around his backhand in the Deuce court and upgrading to a more potent forehand. With Nadal always looking to protect to the right, Djokovic attacked to the left.

Superb from the Serbian. The first step was to break the forehand down. Then it was to double down on an overloaded backhand. Nadal had 33 backhand winners in six matches to the final, but struck just three against Djokovic while committing 21 errors.

Step two accomplished. It’s exactly the same demolition sequence at every level of our sport. Break down the forehand, then the backhand, and the serve will quickly become overheated.

Nadal made just 64 per cent first serves in the final, compared to 69 per cent leading into it. Nadal had won 81 per cent of first-serve points to the final, but that fell off a cliff to just 51 per cent against Djokovic.

If you can break down the forehand, the backhand, and then the serve, the match sits on a platter for the taking. Everywhere Nadal turned, he found a Serbian brick wall. The Spaniard was -14 in short rallies of zero-to-four shots against Djokovic, and -15 in the longer rallies of nine-plus.

Short didn’t work, and neither did long. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he had nowhere to turn to to formulate a winning plan.

Rally Length – 2019 Australian Open Final
0-4 Shots = Djokovic 49 / Nadal 35 (Djokovic +14)
5-8 Shots = Djokovic 18 / Nadal 11 (Djokovic +7)
9+ Shots = Djokovic 22 / Nadal 7 (Djokovic +15)

The average rally length for the final was 5.03 shots, with Djokovic taking the honours everywhere you looked. He faced only one break point in the final, which he saved, while Nadal faced eight, losing five of them.

What bites hard for the Spaniard is that he made four first serves on the five break break points he lost, highlighting how Djokovic consistently turned defence into offence in the final.

Nadal had been dominant against second serves to the final, including winning a dominant 70 per cent against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals. That number fell off a cliff in the final, as the Spaniard won only three of 19 second-serve points against Djokovic.

It’s now three Slams in a row, and the clock is still running.

Editor’s Note: Craig O’Shannessy is a member of Novak Djokovic‘s coaching team.