Danish teenager defeats Novak Djokovic to announce himself on the world stage
The world No 2, the world No 1 and the most decorated tennis player of his generation came into the final having won 11 from their previous 14 Grand Slam matches. Djokovic had just reached the semi-final stage of the Australian Open for the second time. Nadal had won the opening set of his semi-final against Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets.
The third seed had also won his opening two matches against Andy Murray as he claimed his fourth first round match in a row. But despite losing the first set to the Scot, Nadal held his nerve and took the second set in a closely contested match.
In the other semi-final, Roger Federer had won his opener against Andy Murray in three sets. The Swiss player was then comprehensively defeated by Djokovic, who was making only his fifth career semi-final.
As a result, Djokovic broke Nadal’s record in winning the first Grand Slam singles title of his career.
Djokovic also became the first-ever man since Andre Agassi in 1997 to claim back-to-back World Tour finals.
It was the second ATP Masters 1000 title of Djokovic’s career – a win he gained in just his fifth career tournament. And he also became the seventh man to win two singles titles at least at the same Grand Slam event.
Djokovic began by winning the Auckland final in 2004. He followed it in 2009 with a second title as he defeated Nadal in straight sets in the US. The following year Djokovic also took out the first of the four Grand Slam singles titles in Paris, beating the Spaniard Nadal in the final.
This time Djokovic was the one to win the title, defeating Nadal in the semi-finals, then defeating Federer in the final, the seventh time the Swiss player had made a semi-final. In his career, Djokovic had won only one semi-final at a career Grand Slam event and had failed
