Russian tennis ace Daniil Medvedev posed questions of Novak Djokovic before the world number one capitalized on his mistakes for his ninth Australian Open title, easing to a straight sets win with a dominant display in Melbourne.
Entering the final on a scintillating run of 20 successive victories, Medvedev could have had a very different day had he not been broken in the final game of the an intriguing first set, losing 7-5.
The ATP Finals winner responded in the best way possible by breaking the 2020 champion in the first game of the second set, only for Djokovic to break back immediately.
That dream start was as good as it got for Medvedev in the second set, and he consummately vented his frustration by obliterating a racket as Djokovic set the tempo in inimitably style, charging into the ascendancy by claiming five of the next six games on his way to a 6-2 triumph.
The world number four struggled to regain his composure, producing a succession of open-armed gesticulations while appearing to argue with his box - an occasional feature of his successful tournament - while Djokovic cruised to open up another comfortable lead.
Medvedev had a glimmer of hope in the seventh game of the set, threatening to break back at 4-2 and finding himself a little unlucky to be on the receiving end of a shot that dropped inside the line by the narrowest of margins at 30-30, causing Djokovic to roar his approval at his box and, after winning the point that followed, repeatedly tap his head in an apparent indication of the determination he had drawn upon to ward off the danger.
Djokovic promptly broke again to seal a 6-2 third-set win, although the final game was not without incident as Medvedev backed up an umpire call for the crowd, who had fervently backed the Serb throughout, to curtail their cheers.
That was only a temporary respite as Djokovic took Championship point at the first time of asking, falling to the floor and slapping the court floor after sealing his 18th Grand Slam win with a masterful performance to retain his Australian Open crown.
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