Flashback: The 2021 Australian open

Once again, it was Novak Djokovic who was making headlines in Melbourne this January, but this time it was for all the wrong reasons. In what turned out to be a farcical set of events, that dragged on for far too long and hardly showed tennis in its best light, Djokovic was deported from Australia in a stand off with immigration officers as he was unvaccinated. The world number one will play no part in this year’s tournament, meaning a new champion will be crowned and Australian open odds 2022 burst wide open.

Djokovic is the current holder of the tournament and despite his beliefs over coronavirus threatening to overshadow his great performances over the last few years, this is a man that has dominated Down Under as well as winning Wimbledon last year. While future competitions may impose the same strict vaccine rules that Australia have, and we might not get to see Djokovic perform at his very best to sometime later this year, its important to remember how good he was last year and take a look at how he won his 18th Grand Slam at Melbourne Park against Daniil Medvedev. Read on, as we look at the final of the 2021 Australian open.

The build up

Based on his reputation alone, it was obvious Djokovic would come into this one as the clear favourite. Having dispatched of Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem in his previous outings, he was certainly made to earn his way into this showpiece event this time around, beating German Alexander Zverev and then Aslan Karatsev in the semi-final.

For Medvedev it was always going to be an uphill battle. This was one of the best years of his admittedly shorter career and despite the Australian open tips touting him as a clear underdog, he was still ranked number two having lost just one of his last 20 matches, with wins against Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev and the controversial Stefanos Tsitsipas booking his place in the final.

The match

Coming in as the veteran, Djokovic was quick to impose himself on proceedings. An ace down the middle followed by strong backhands gave the Russian no chance to settle down and you could see early jitters were getting to him after going 3-0 down. It was always going to be a tough task but after composing himself Medvedev began to find his feet and made a game of it, demonstrating his great serving game and tying things up before Djokovic once again gained the ascendancy.

It was a performance ladened with errors, largely down to the fatigue and pressure on the biggest stage, but nonetheless you could tell the experience of the Serbian would inevitably come in to play, it was just a matter of when rather than how.

Overwhelmed, Djokovic hit some ferocious shots towards the latter stage of the game and after dropping to his knees out of sheer exhaustion, sealed a win over Medvedev finishing 7-5, 6-2, 6-2.

The reaction

It really was testament to how far the Russian had come in such a short space of time. There was genuine humility and appreciation for Djokovic, as the pair used to train together. The Serbian was quick to quash any rumours of injuries affecting the way he played, and the mutual respect between the two is a great example of how to win and lose with pride. 

“I know there’s been a lot of speculation, people questioning whether I’m injured, how can I recover so quickly, it’s impossible to do that,” Djokovic said. “I get it. I mean, look, everyone is entitled for their own opinion, and everybody has the freedom and the right to say what they want, criticise others. I just felt like it was a bit unfair at times. But, hey, it’s not the first nor the last time.”