Novak Djokovic from Serbia beat Austrian Dominic Thiem in a thrilling 5-set match 6-4 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 to win the 2020 Australian Open men’s singles title at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. By doing so, he won his 8th Australian Open title and his 17th Gram Slam.
He has now inched closer to the only two men who have more Grand Slam titles under their belt – Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have won 20 and 19 singles titles.
Djokovic also set a unique record after the win – he became the first man in the Open Era to win a grand slam title in three decades.
Gr8⃣ness
? 2008
? 2011
? 2012
? 2013
? 2015
? 2016
? 2019
? 2020#AusOpen | #AO2020 | @DjokerNole pic.twitter.com/g0j8o3gZA7— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 2, 2020
The match lasted close to four hours, but in the end, Djokovic prevailed over his opponent. The match was viewed by a record 31, 020 people, breaking the previous record of 30,753 spectators in 2019. Famous Australian cricketers, Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne were among the spectators watching the match live at the Rod Laver Arena.
“I would like to start by saying congratulations to Dominic for an amazing tournament,” said Djokovic, during the on-court ceremony. “It wasn’t meant to be tonight. Tough luck and it was a tough match, but you were very close to winning it and you definitely have a lot more time in your career and I’m sure that you will get one of the Grand Slam trophies. More than one.”
Both the men also mentioned the victims of the Australian bushfires that have been ravaging Australia. Djokovic also paid a tribute to ace basketball player Kobe Bryant, who passed away in an unfortunate helicopter crash recently.
“One person that I considered close in my life and was a mentor to me, Kobe Bryant, passed away as well with his daughter,” he said. “I would just like to say that this is a reminder to all of us that we should stick together more than ever, now being with our families, stay close to the people that love you, that care about you. Of course, we are part of the professional sport, we compete and we try our best, but obviously there are more important things in life and it’s important to be conscious and humble about things that are happening around you.”
Women’s Singles Championship
21-year-old Sofia Kenin of the United States of America beat Garbine Muguruza from Spain 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 to win the 2020 Australian Open women’s singles title, winning her first Grand Slam title. In the process, she also became the youngest winner in 12 years.
Kenin is 22 days younger than Naomi Osaka of Japan, who won the title last year. Maria Sharapova won the Championship at the age of 20 in 2008.
Have yourself a fortnight, @SofiaKenin!
✅ First Grand Slam Title
✅ Top 10 Debut
✅ Youngest winner since 2008#AusOpen | #AO2020 pic.twitter.com/iuM4oHld76— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 1, 2020
Earlier, Kenin defeated top-seeded Ashleigh Barty from Australia to advance to the finals.
A big congratulations to both the winners for Team Newsum! We hope to see more thrilling tennis from them in this season.
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