Novak Djokovic, at his absolute best, can make even the most fiercely competitive of draws appear enervated. From the start of 2015 to mid-2016, when he won five of the six Grand Slam events, he arguably played at a level unmatched in tennis history. With his merciless demolition of Rafael Nadal in Melbourne on Sunday, which gave the World No. 1 a men’s-record seventh Australian Open singles trophy, and his 15th Major overall taking him past American great Pete Sampras, he is on the cusp of repeating that golden run spread across 2015 and 2016. The Serb’s transformation, in just over six months, from a physically compromised and mentally withdrawn state to having a shot at sporting immortality, has been staggering. Against Nadal, he did not quite have to hit his peak; the World No.2, despite having looked the better player leading up to the final, never truly arrived, with his rhythm, timing and tactics all over the place. The 17-time Grand Slam champion seemed smitten by anxiety, a far cry from the 2018 Wimbledon semifinal when he fearlessly matched Djokovic shot for shot over five epic sets. But that is probably what the mask of invincibility does to opponents, something that Djokovic wears so effortlessly.
To be sure, Djokovic had lost in each of the three tournaments before the Australian Open — to rising youngsters in Karen Khachanov and Alexander Zverev, and the gritty Roberto Bautista Agut — suggesting a few cracks. But the manner of victory over Nadal, where he conceded a mere eight games and did not drop a set, a first in 25 finals for the Spaniard, proved that the 31-year-old had lost none of his astonishing powers of recovery. Nadal was on the path to recovery as well, playing only his first tournament since his injury-forced retirement in the U.S. Open semifinal last September. Following Roger Federer’s loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 20-year-old sensation from Greece, the tournament seemed open to further upsets, but the business end demonstrated that the elite can never be written off. As Nadal said after dismantling Tsitsipas in the semifinal, what fans can instead look forward to is an irresistible battle of the generations. On the women’s side, this clash has seemed heightened in recent years, and Naomi Osaka, with her gallant three-set win over Petra Kvitova in the final, firmly established herself as the next big thing. For the 21-year-old to back up her maiden title at the U.S. Open with a win in the very next slam is character-revealing. She is now the World No.1 and also the first Asian to get there. She has the temperament and the poise to go much further.
