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Men's Singles

Novak Djokovic Wins Ninth Australian Open Title

The victory for the top-ranked Djokovic, in three sets over the fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia, gave him his 18th career Grand Slam title over al

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia after his victory in the Australian Open men’s singles final against Daniil Medvedev of Russia.Credit...Alana Holmberg for The New York Times

By Matthew Futterman

  • Feb. 21, 2021
MELBOURNE, Australia — They come nearly every year now, this new crop of challengers in men’s tennis who so desperately want to begin their time in the sun, to win the championships that everyone in the game values most and beat the three players considered the best to ever play on the biggest stage.

And each year, they fall short, making the task seem even more impossible.

This is how it went Sunday night at Melbourne Park, where Novak Djokovic did what he always does. Djokovic, the veteran from Serbia ranked No. 1 in the world, both defeated and discouraged the fourth-ranked Daniil Medvedev of Russia, 7-5, 6-2, 6-2, in the Australian Open men’s singles final.

The victory gave Djokovic his ninth Australian Open singles championship, a tournament record on the men’s side, and the 18th Grand Slam title of his career. Djokovic has made nine Australian Open finals and won each time, including in the last three years.

With this Grand Slam championship, Djokovic is now just two behind Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the race to achieve the most major men’s singles titles in a career. Djokovic, 33, is a year younger than Nadal and six years younger than Federer, who will soon begin his comeback from two surgeries on his right knee, though it remains to be seen whether he will be a championship contender or embarking on a farewell tour.

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The Big Three of men’s tennis, as they are known, have 58 now. Players under 30 years old have just one. The younger ones, like Medvedev, 25, who moments after the loss called Djokovic and his cohorts “cyborgs of tennis,” are all too familiar with the math.

“When they are in the zone they are just better tennis players,” Medvedev said.

Djokovic was in the zone Sunday night, playing what his coach, Goran Ivanisevic, called “a masterpiece.”

It was a victory Djokovic needed badly, Ivanisevic said, after he was disqualified from the United States Open in September for swatting a ball that hit a line judge, and the drubbing Nadal gave him in the French Open final in October.

“I have to agree with my coach,” Djokovic said of Ivanisevic’s assessment of the past few months. “I wanted to start this year in the best possible fashion.”

72 players put on 14-day hard quarantines because 10 people on three chartered flights those players took to Australia tested positive for coronavirus upon arrival.

Then came an injured abdominal muscle — doctors, he said, have told him it is torn — that nearly forced Djokovic out of the tournament. Yet he survived a five set test in the third round and a four-set challenge with two tiebreakers in the quarterfinals.

He managed the abdominal injury better than he expected, then vanquished the hottest player in tennis. Medvedev had a 20-match winning streak heading into Sunday night.

Attempting to place a little more pressure on his challenger, Djokovic called Medvedev “the man to beat” in the tournament. In reality though, few doubted Djokovic’s edge. He entered the match as the two-time reigning champion and with a well-earned aura of invincibility at Rod Laver Arena in the late rounds.



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Image
Djokovic’s 18 Grand Slam singles titles place him two behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s career record in men’s tennis. Djokovic is the youngest of the three.Credit...Alana Holmberg for The New York Times
Rod Laver Arena sits a few hundred yards from the Yarra River, and just a few miles from Port Phillip Bay. When evening comes and the lights turn on, gulls flock to the rafters and squawk through the night. With Djokovic playing so many of his matches at night here, it becomes difficult not to imagine those birds as his personal vultures, bearing witness as he slays his latest victim.

The reasons for Djokovic’s dominance here are both physical and psychological. The final always takes place at night. Those night matches that the birds come for, along with legions of Serbs who scream the “Olé, olé, olé, olé,” chant when their favorite son most needs it, are often played in cooler temperatures than those that take place during the warm, dry days of the Australian summer. Heat has always tended to melt Djokovic. A cool evening, like the one on which he met Medvedev, is his favorite playing partner.

Also, players say the shift in the weather completely changes the conditions of the court. Balls stop popping off the ground, keeping so many of Djokovic’s hard, flat groundstrokes below his opponent’s knees and out of their strike zones. What looks like a simple backhand is anything but, especially when the player hitting the original shot has never lost the ultimate match here, and too often the opponent’s counter ends up wide, long or in the middle of the net.

Medvedev made 67 errors, 30 of them unforced, though against Djokovic the difference between a forced error and an unforced one is negligible. Djokovic served just three aces, but he won 73 percent of the points on his first serve and 58 percent on his second serve, numbers that usually translate to a dominant night.

Djokovic won seven of 11 break points and 16 of the 18 points when he came to the net. He outsmarted a player considered to be among the smartest and most creative in the game by keeping Medvedev guessing and setting the kinds of traps Medvedev has been known to lay for his opponents, hitting three shots to set up the winner on the fourth.

Neither Djokovic, Federer nor Nadal have been beaten in a final to a player currently younger than 30.

Dominic Thiem of Austria came close, outplaying Djokovic for long stretches in last year’s Australian Open final before Djokovic prevailed in five sets. That match appeared to hint at a shrinking gap between the veterans and the young players trying to nip at their heels.

But as Djokovic lifted the trophy once more in Melbourne, he made it clear that he had no intention of giving up ownership of the crown he claims as his own and the court he calls his second backyard anytime soon.

Djokovic said it was a matter of time before Medvedev and his peers started winning Grand Slams, but at the moment he is in a race against history and his two biggest rivals. It drives him, and there is no thought of slowing down.

“I don’t feel like I am older or tired or anything like that,” he said.




Image
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Daniil Medvedev broke his racket in frustration during the second set.Credit...Brandon Malone/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Nor does he look it.

Before Sunday’s match, Lleyton Hewitt, a former world No. 1 and a two-time Grand Slam champion in the 2000s, said Medvedev was going to need to create a moment to make himself believe that he could beat Djokovic on this night, on this court, like when Hewitt won the first-set tiebreaker against Pete Sampras in his first triumph at a Grand Slam final.

The first test came early for Medvedev, after Djokovic broke him in his first service game and cruised to a 3-0 lead. But a game later, Medvedev outclassed Djokovic on a 28-shot rally that had both players sliding from sideline to sideline to get his first chance to break Djokovic’s serve. Minutes later it was 3-3. Game on.

Five games later the set appeared headed for a tiebreaker, but the moment of truth for Medvedev arrived sooner. Serving at 5-6 and down a point, he sent a forehand wide with Djokovic pushing to the net, and caught a bad break as what could have been the winning shot on the next point ticked the top of the net cord and gave Djokovic a sitter for an easy passing shot.

Just like that, triple set point. Big serves saved the first two, but then Medvedev sent a forehand into the net. The big hill that no one in Medvedev’s generation has been able to summit suddenly seemed that much higher.

After prevailing in that first set, Djokovic shifted from a steady run into a sprint. He broke Medvedev three times in the second set and had him breaking one racket, swatting the ground with its replacement and shrugging his shoulders at his coach, as if to say there was nothing he could do.

“Even if I would have done better, it doesn’t mean that the score would be different,” he said.

On match point, Djokovic rose for a lob, stretched and whipped one last winner past Medvedev. He collapsed in celebration on the court then rose quickly, pumping his arms at his box and the crowd. By March, he will have spent more weeks holding the No. 1 ranking than any other man. The reign goes on, for Djokovic and for the Big Three.

“Roger and Rafa inspire me,” Djokovic said as he sat next to the winner’s trophy. “That is something I have said before. I will say it again. I think as long as they go, I’ll go.”

And then he just might go some more.

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CONGRATULATIONS another champion
 

rbkwp

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ASHES V8 SUPERCAR

CONGRATULATIONS NZ,aghain
TWO WONS BATHURST

SVG
takes over where MCLAUGHLIN left off
sigh,way it is
love you all,just as much Aussies


Who will join the winners list in 2021?
  • REPCO SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP
  • |
  • 20/01/2021
088-Whincup-VASC-EV5-20-MH4_5447-1.jpg

The 2021 Repco Supercars Championship grid features 14 race winners, with 10 drivers yet to take the chequered flag first.

The 14 winners combine for 278 race victories, with Jamie Whincup representing 44 per cent of that haul.

Following his Race 1 victory in Adelaide last year, Whincup became the winningest Holden driver in ATCC/Supercars history with 86. He ended 2020 with 122 career wins, 89 of them coming in Commodores.

Whincup has more than three times as many wins as the next driver on the list, Red Bull Ampol Racing team-mate Shane van Gisbergen.

088-Whincup-VASC-EV07-20-MH5_6602-1.jpg


Van Gisbergen also won four races in 2020, including the season-ending Bathurst 1000.

The Bathurst breakthrough was his 29th win for Triple Eight since he joined in 2016, when he won in just his fourth start for the team. He previously won two races for Stone Brothers Racing in 2011, and nine races for Tekno Autosports between 2013 and 2015.

Third on the list is 2015 series champion Mark Winterbottom, who claimed all 38 of his career wins with Tickford Racing (formerly known as Ford Performance Racing and Prodrive Racing Australia) between 2006 and 2016.

It's both impressive and disappointing for Winterbottom; it shows how strong he was for the Ford team, but over four years have passed since his last victory, which came at Pukekohe.

1-Winterbottom-EV04-16-53366.jpg


Such has been the Team 18 veteran's wait, that Winterbottom currently holds the fourth-longest winless streak of active drivers who have won a race.

Four other drivers (Will Davison, James Courtney, Fabian Coulthard and Chaz Mostert) have recorded wins in double figures.

Who can join them in 2021?

Supercars.com predicted that there will be at least one new winner in the upcoming season.

It was also the case in 2020, with Jack Le Brocq and Anton De Pasquale claiming maiden championship wins in Sydney and Darwin respectively.

Le Brocq's win came in his 85th career start, with De Pasquale's maiden victory coming in his 70th career start.

https://www.supercars.com/news/championship/supercars-race-
 

rbkwp

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ashes AMERICAS CUP,YATCHING

SHOULD
be called NEW ZEALANDS CUP

we habe won/had nit for so looooo ng huh

currently
3 winsd all
NZ/LUNA ROSA/PRADA...ITALY
GOOD ON THEM,if they win,takew it off us

best/first,to win 7 fraces
yes,dont mind losing to thrm,theyre greast
 

Harold_Godwinson

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rbkwp

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Very sad news for followers of motorsports, well sport in general in the UK....

Legendary commentator Murray Walker dies at the age of 97

murray-walker.jpg


Former F1 commentator Walker dies at 97

FIA pays tribute to F1 commentator Murray Walker


so i believe/heard hg
never really heard of im down here
but nderstsand your sorrow,and thanks fo your contribution
000s on this site,and virtually no one says snything...WW that is,re sport
incredible
what humanities virtually deterioastefd into

r.i.p. to himAN FOLLOWERS,ACKNOWLEDHGED


know,youve commented ogften,thanks

ps
in hope to some degree LR/P WINS,the AMERICAS CUP
 

rbkwp

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rbkwp

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rbkwp

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CONGRATULATIONS Nev Zealand,for winnng 5the Americas cup again
about time it was/is changed to NZs cup
dont mind ssasying

and
altho,its supposed to be raced in the host/winning country,us
i am QUITE HASSPPY that/if,the UK,apparently as challenger for the next race
i would be happy if they go with a proposal to race in the UK,NEXT YEAR

makes sense,get back to original,and get rid of the USA
all,money,money,money....baaaaah


all be revealed,soon,apparently


plus

we may not even have a ticker tape parade
reasaon
save money

plus2

30-000 people attending
NZ,hopefully,'getting back to life'
 

rbkwp

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ASHES AMERICAS/NZS CUP
LOVE NZSn innovative style for all/future races
we all benefit,participants benefit
not
USA SELFISH MANIPULATING to benwefit them primarily

welcome
challenger UK,YES

i personally do hope,we have a one off race,in the UK next year

and
R.I.P
OUR LATE Sir Peter Blake
never gong to forget you,your contribution
started itall off,our quest
Grant Dalton CEO,carrying that on
yes
 

rbkwp

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get well,keep well IMRHAN KHAN
Pakistan Cricketer,and current PM of PAKISTAN


CVs A BUGGER,AS WE ALL/ALL THE WORLD KNOWS
takes no prisoners,shows no mercy,the bugger

again
wonder why,we are afflicted
 

rbkwp

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SVG NZ again
KIWIA INVINCIBLE smile


Super Shane, awesome Anton: The storylines uncovered in Tassie


@@@ GMAIL 1

=



Super Shane, awesome Anton: Race 6 takeaways

The first sprint in Tassie uncovered a number of key storylines read more ›






The victory chance that unravelled in a heartbeat

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Van Gisbergen joins exclusive group victory in Race 6 read more ›



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Percat laments slow start to his Tasmania weekend read more ›



Grid penalty strips Smith of career-best qualifying result

BJR young gun demoted after qualifying misdemeanour read more ›


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RACE RESULTS

Beaurepaires Tasmania SuperSprint - Race 6


RED BULL AMPOL RACING TEAM 100
02
OexSYY5n0tCJCi4N3QXAprK3LOdDtpA0gVnEoeRs-eJLxGV06ksPuqHD4CJ4l9XPr1BEYHoFnMXs9BwyjnHH6CmSPYyQOPUJ41WuTFJIGvIQwEQT3O7cfbd1LQd1Xg7PFNI=s0-d-e1-ft
JAMIE WHINCUP
RED BULL AMPOL RACING TEAM 92
03
P7baktpH3M4ax5gJ1JEST7s_P8vVStWVfKWrz5XnoWkXRNFDIYGW0__T24PdK3n7ar89V4iEkgWQphn7V9t7URlLiwgqiFlPJoHYckixJbcorjCtTffUJSQDcfJGbdRJ=s0-d-e1-ft
ANTON DE PASQUALE
SHELL V-POWER RACING TEAM 86
04
rs-FEg1ZHI7VgdJAq-TxInjqKVCkf56zP0UgwXvLoDCpWObN7qO-vth1JiSsu79oZ_n-JnoQCoZoWxIf1MTct94-UCMNrJHBzi-E15dgpmSbULESegjN5pY3yO9dEcPPyu8=s0-d-e1-ft
CHAZ MOSTERT
MOBIL 1 TM APPLIANCES ONLINE 80
05
sq7fRzSllYgpVOIYWr9Uxe_M4ur1Kcwi-MpD9pmeCS-TVchRp4zEXt6S3D4_gNB5ZlTqKqX4SCZDBTo1GHhma5uHc-0pp6c9JhnF2t6tgW37qMY5GCXgY3VLrUCKeIDnNoQ=s0-d-e1-ft
WILL DAVISON
SHELL V-POWER RACING TEAM 74
 

rbkwp

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