Novak Djokovic wasn’t ruthless. He was perfect.
There were few grind-it-out points.
When Rafa Nadal called on his magic, it wasn’t there.
Djokovic stole it.
As John McEnroe said, “He is having a bad day so far.” And nothing changed for Nadal.
It wasn’t Rafa’s day on Sunday in the Australian Open final. Djokovic gave the Spanish left-hander one of his worst beatings, a simple 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 victory for a record seventh Australian Open title.
A SIMPLE, BUT PERFECT DAY FOR NOVAK
It was simple for Djokovic. He played nearly perfect tennis and Rafa was hardly a shadow of the player who had been so superb in this tournament without dropping a set in his first six matches.
Yes, this one came easy for Djokovic. He didn’t drop a point on his serve until he served for the first set.
Novak simply didn’t give Nadal a chance to get into the match, partly because Nadal couldn’t find the court on big points.
Nadal started without his usual passion and tenacity. He apparently was just trying to get into the match slowly, rather than all at once. He obviously thought he would be able to make a run at some point in the match. He didn’t. Djokovic wouldn’t let him.
A PRICE TO PAY FOR LACK OF EARLY PASSION
Rafa paid a price for not pushing himself to a fast start.
Djokovic came out on fire and never let up, never giving Nadal a chance to become the Rafa that the crowd had seen for two weeks.
Twenty-one straight Grand Slam tournament wins and three consecutive Grand Slam titles put Djokovic in a class all of his own right now. He wasn’t spectacular against Nadal. But he did almost nothing wrong. He dominated the rallies with his quickness and consistency, and his serve was almost perfect.
It was a clinic that Nadal had no answer for. He probably will stay awake at night, asking himself, “Why didn’t I come out ready to play?”
NO ANSWER FOR DJOKOVIC’S STYLE OF PLAY
Rafa went to Melbourne ready to play, ready to claim a victory that would make him only the third player to complete a double career Grand Slam.
Perhaps it was that sense of immortality that got to Nadal, as well as the fact Djokovic was on the other side of the court.
Novak may be the only player in the game who has Rafa’s number.
All of that was enough to take Rafa’s usual passion away.
WHAT HAPPENS IN PARIS?
Nadal simply has no answer for Novak’s court coverage and ability to turn Rafa’s best shots into winners of his own. But is that just on hard courts? Maybe.
What will happen in Paris in a few months? Surely, it will be more of a grind, and Djokovic isn’t likely to be as perfect as he was Down Under.
Nevertheless, there has to be worry in the Nadal camp, just as there is concern in Roger Federer’s camp after a surprising quarterfinal exit. Just remember, Federer is 37 years old, five years older than Nadal.
The big question is what happened to Nadal’s tenacity and movement, and inability to put the ball into play on big points.
But there’s a long way between January and September. And Nadal doesn’t seem to feel the pressure in other majors that he feels in Australia. Maybe because he already has his two titles in every other major.
The world could look completely different by the time the U.S. Open ends.
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James Beck is the long-time tennis columnist for the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier newspaper. He can be reached at Jamesbecktennis@gmail.com. See his Post and Courier columns at
