A Masterpiece Down Under

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal somehow managed to enshrine themselves higher up in the pantheon of tennis after their instant classic Australian Open final today. The two men outdid themselves, and that is something which seems to be nearly impossible, after all they have combined to win the last eight Grand Slam's and have 15 combined slams (10 for Rafa 5 for Djokovic). Yet somehow they did it, somehow they provided everybody with a quality of tennis that has only been seen a mere handfull of times throughout history.



Coming into the match Nadal held a slight edge over Novak in their head-to-head series, taking 16 of the 29 matches the two had played. Djokovic though had won the last six, all of them finals. Nadal reached the Aussie Open final by beating Roger Federer in a terrific four set match, while Djokovic took out Andy Murray in a grueling five setter that lasted nearly five hours. Both men had been tested by fantastic opponents in their penultimate matches, but they proved in the final that they were the two competitors who deserved to be there.

The match began with an 80 minute first set won by Nadal, 7-5. Then Djokovic after squandering an early 5-2 lead in the second managed to break Rafa who was serving at 4-5 to take the set. Djokovic followed up the second with an easy 6-2 victory in the third and seemingly had taken control of the match. Then after three sets and over three hours the quality of play somehow elevated. Nadal was down 3-5 in the fourth set before rallying and showing some superhuman will and desire to comeback and take the set in a tiebreak. It seemed as if Rafa refused to take another loss at the hands of Djokovic.

The play in the fifth and final set can only be described as impossible. Following two semi-final battles and over four and a half hours of play in the final Djokovic and Nadal once again upped their games. The two competitors showed an unheralded combination of will, desire, grace, tenacity, physical fitness and sheer power throughout the whole match, but the fifth set is where the true magic took place. Nothing came easy, and everything was fought for. At 4-4 in the set Nadal won a tremendous point that reduced Djokovic to his knees. It was obvious that he was running on empty. At 5-5 with Nadal serving it was in fact Rafa who showed a fatal sign of fatigue. Nadal lost the game after putting a somewhat lazy backhand slice into the net, allowing Novak to serve for the championship. Rafa wasn't quite done though, forcing Djokovic to save a break point after which Djokovic looked up to the man above and seemed to plead and beg him for those last two points. After a powerful serve on championship point all Nadal could do was hit a defensive return in the middle of the court and watch Novak rip a forehand winner to claim the title.

As cliché as it sounds, this match was so much more than winners and losers. This match was about two men who refused to let themselves give in, refused to let themselves lose. It was about two warriors playing their highest quality of tennis after two weeks and five hours. It was about two champions in every sense of the word providing the world something magical to watch. It was about sports once again being better than anything else.

Watching the two rivals embrace after the match completed nearly brought tears to my eyes. Knowing how hard each of them had worked, and just how much each of them wanted the win, it was devastating to see one of them lose. Then after the embrace watching Novak literally rip off his shirt and pound his chest as he looked up in the sky reminded me that this is why we watch sports. Seeing the pure and raw emotion of Djokovic after a victory that took him 5 hours and 53 minutes to win was something special.

While a ridiculously long and artificial award ceremony, due to sponsors sharing their own product and thoughts before the athletes got a chance to speak, did not do the match justice, once Rafael Nadal finally got called to the mic we were all humbled once again by his incredible class and grace. After fighting as hard as he possibly could, after losing a seventh final to Djokovic in a row, he was still able to start off his runner up speech with a joke, a simple "good morning" to the crowd that had been there for nearly six hours. You could physically see the pain in his face, but still he was able to keep his composure and thank everybody involved with the tournament and give his congratulations to the man who has beaten him over and over again in the last year.

After seeing countless guys across the sports world act like immature, spoiled children, it was so refreshing to see a 25 year old with such class. The tennis world is spoiled right now with some of the best and classiest players the sport has ever seen. Even the once ill-mannered Novak Djokovic, 24, has matured into a fantastic ambassador of the sport.

With that I would like to give a sincere thank you to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for providing me with yet another unforgettable moment in sports.



Photo Credit: Rick Rycroft/AP Photo


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