Tennis – Australian Open – Men’s Singles Final – Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia, January 27, 2019. Serbia’s Novak Djokovic reacts during the match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson
(Reuters) – World number one Novak Djokovic came within touching distance of a seventh Australian Open title, bulldozing his way through the first two sets 6-3 6-2 in Sunday’s final against Rafa Nadal.
Djokovic came out all guns blazing and broke Nadal in the Spaniard’s first service game to race ahead 4-1 in the opening set, before holding firm to seize the early advantage in the contest at Rod Laver Arena.
The ruthless Serb then increased his grip on the match by winning the second set, sealing a decisive break to go ahead 3-2 before fending off Nadal’s attempts to come back.
Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Amlan Chakraborty