Novak Djokovic turned in a masterclass in beating Rafael Nadal 6-3 6-2 6-3 to claim the 2019 Australian Open on Rod Laver Arena.
It's no stretch to say that Djokovic played some of the best tennis of his 16-year professional career on the way to claiming his 15th major title.
Nadal simply had no answer to the service game, the ground strokes or the defense of Djokovic as the 31-year-old won a historic seventh Australian Open title.
It's a record he now holds alone, having gone one better than Roger Federer and Roy Emerson.
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The result is made more shocking considering the form Nadal took into the decider. The 32-year-old had won 110 games and lost just 48 in six straight-sets wins leading into Sunday night.
Along the way he earned one-sided beat-downs of hugely hyped prospects Alex de Minaur, Frances Tiafoe and Stefanos Tsitsipas, and took just over two hours to beat veteran Tomas Berdych in the fourth round.
The win is Djokovic's third major title in succession, having beaten Nadal at Wimbledon last year before taking four sets to beat Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open.
It continues a remarkable comeback after an injury riddled Djokovic was spectacularly knocked out of the Australian Open by Hyeong Chung last year. There were serious questions being asked about Djokovic's future following that disappointment, but he has rarely looked in better form since undergoing elbow surgery 11 months ago.
If their 2012 Australian Open final is considered one of the greatest contests in tennis history, the 2019 rematch was anything but.
The one-sided domination began early, and continued throughout the night.
Djokovic won his first four service games to love. Read that again. Djokovic didn't lose a single point on serve in 16 points.
Meanwhile, Nadal was broken in his very first service game and looked as nervous as he's ever been on a tennis court.
Nadal eventually found his rhythm midway through the first set, but was no match for Djokovic who took the set 6-3 in under 40 minutes.
But that score didn't truly reflect how dominant the Serbian was.
Djokovic sent down four aces, while Nadal couldn't find any. Djokovic won 15 of 15 points on first serve. Nadal only won 57% of his own first serves. Djokovic hit 12 winners to Nadal's six and coughed up three unforced errors to the world number two's 11.
Nadal continued being bossed around the court at the start of the second set. Djokovic dominted points, moving the 17-time Grand Slam champion around the court seemingly at will and getting the upper hand on baseline rallies.
At 2-2 in the set, The Joker earned his second break point of the final. At 4-2 he earned another, and calmly served for a 2-0 lead. They were the first two sets Nadal had dropped all tournament.
It's been over 50 years since anyone came back from two sets down to win the Australian Open final, and with shots like the one below, there weren't many people predicting it would happen tonight.
There's no words for @DjokerNole's level of play in this #AusOpenFinal.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2019
🎥: @Channel9 pic.twitter.com/IgBlQKaaQ4
"I just can't believe what I'm seeing," said Jim Courier in commentary at the start of the third set.
"It's so rare to see him make the choices that aren't the right ones. It's like he's rattled."
By the third set, Nadal was reduced to guessing where Djokovic's serves were going to land, and it was only a matter of time until he was broken again. In fact, it came in Nadal's second service game of the third set.
There was the slightest glimmer of hope for Nadal as he earned a break point opportunity in the third set, but Djokovic quickly extinguished it.
Instead he marched on relentlessly to move within two of Nadal's Grand Slam titles tally.
The win is Djokovic's 28th out of 53 matches the pair have played. The result levels their head-to-head score in Grand Slam finals to four apiece, although Nadal still leads the overall head-to-head at majors 10-5.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN FINAL STATS
| DJOKOVIC | NADAL | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 8 | 3 |
| Double faults | 0 | 2 |
| First serve in | 72% | 64% |
| Break points won | 5/8 (63%) | 0/1 (0%) |
| Receiving points won | 31/73 (42%) | 13/69 (19%) |
| Unforced errors | 9 | 28 |
| Total points won | 89 | 53 |
| Fastest serve | 197 km/h | 205 km/h |
NOVAK DJOKOVIC'S AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULTS
| YEAR | RESULT |
|---|---|
| 2005 | First Round |
| 2006 | First Round |
| 2007 | Fourth Round |
| 2008 | Champion |
| 2009 | Quarter-final |
| 2010 | Quarter-final |
| 2011 | Champion |
| 2012 | Champion |
| 2013 | Champion |
| 2014 | Quarter-final |
| 2015 | Champion |
| 2016 | Champion |
| 2017 | Second Round |
| 2018 | Fourth Round |
| 2019 | Champion |
NOVAK DJOKOVIC'S GRAND SLAM TITLES
| YEAR | SLAM | OPPONENT |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Australian Open | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–6(7–2) |
| 2011 | Australian Open | Andy Murray 6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |
| 2011 | Wimbledon | Rafael Nadal 6–4, 6–1, 1–6, 6–3 |
| 2011 | US Open | Rafael Nadal 6–2, 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 6–1 |
| 2012 | Australian Open | Rafael Nadal 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 |
| 2013 | Australian Open | Andy Murray 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–3), 6–3, 6–2 |
| 2014 | Wimbledon | Roger Federer 6–7(7–9), 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 5–7, 6–4 |
| 2015 | Australian Open | Andy Murray 7–6(7–5), 6–7(4–7), 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2015 | Wimbledon | Roger Federer 7–6(7–1), 6–7(10–12), 6–4, 6–3 |
| 2015 | US Open | Roger Federer 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| 2016 | Australian Open | Andy Murray 6–1, 7–5, 7–6(7–3) |
| 2016 | French Open | Andy Murray 3–6, 6–1, 6–2, 6–4 |
| 2018 | Wimbledon | Kevin Anderson 6–2, 6–2, 7–6(7–3) |
| 2018 | US Open | Juan Martín del Potro 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–3 |
| 2019 | Australian Open | Rafael Nadal |