Dominic Thiem banged hard but was unable to knock down the door as Novak Djokovic continued the old guard’s grand slam dominance by winning an eighth Australian Open title. It extends the Melbourne record he set last year, while Djokovic becomes the first man in the Open era to win slam titles across three decades. The 32-year-old lost his cool in the ninth game of the second set after being given back-to-back time violations, the second of which resulted in him being penalised a first serve and then broken. The opening set still went the way of the Serbian, though, after Thiem double-faulted on set point. A wild one gave a break back in the second set and, with Djokovic serving at 4-4, the momentum seemed to be with him once more.

Source: Irish Examiner February 02, 2020 12:56 UTC