By Chris Oddo | Friday January 25, 2019
Novak Djokovic is a man on a mission.
The Serb completed an emphatic 6-0, 6-2, 6-2 demolition of France’s Lucas Pouille on Friday night in Melbourne, taking just 84 minutes to earn his 20th consecutive Grand Slam match victory and booking his spot alongside Rafael Nadal in a to-die-for Australian Open final.
The World No.1 started on a roll and ended like a breaking wave crashing overhead of Pouille, who was shellshocked from first ball and never found a solution to slowing the top seed down.
In a way the match was a carbon copy of Nadal’s performance on Thursday when the Spaniard trounced upstart Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-4, 6-0.
Pouille, who had never won a single match in Melbourne prior to this season, was on a dream run. But the 24-year-old found himself in uncharted waters on Friday night and a fierce Djokovic was waiting.
Djokovic was on fire from the onset; his groundstrokes were menacing, his movement relentless. He struck 11 winners against 1 unforced error in the opening set and lost three points on serve. Every fiber of his being seemed dead set on destruction and Pouille could only stand by helplessly and watch as the Serb pillaged.
If Pouille was hoping for a reprieve in the second set he never got it. He did bring the crowd to life with a hold for 1-all in the first set but moments later he was down 4-1, the set all but over as Djokovic dug in and greedily angled to expand the lead.
Pouille got to 1-1 in the third set as well but again Djokovic reeled off three straight for 4-1 before he sprinted to the finish line by taking the final two games.
“It was definitely one of the best matches I ever had on this court,” Djokovic told Jim Courier after the blowout. “Everything worked the way I imagined it before the match and even more so.”
The the anticlimactic nature of both finals might have left paying customers disappointed, the growing fervor over the blockbuster final that we're about to see in Melbourne has already taken hold, gripping fans of the sport with anticipation of what may transpire when these two legends meet on Sunday for the title.
Nadal and Djokovic will play for the 53rd time, and the 15th time at the Grand Slams. Djokovic holds the 27-25 lifetime edge, but Nadal holds the 9-5 edge at the majors. Nadal also leads 4-3 lifetime against Djokovic in Grand Slam finals but the Serb has taken their only meeting in Melbourne.
It was in 2012 in Melbourne when Djokovic and Nadal played their lone battle on Rod Laver Arena. It ended as the longest Grand Slam final ever played, lasting 5:53 with Djokovic claiming a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7(5), 7-5 victory.
The match is considered by many to be the pair’s greatest battle and one of the greatest Grand Slam finals in the history of the sport.
With Nadal searching for his 18th major title and Djokovic bidding for his 15th the stakes will be even higher than they were seven years ago. Nadal entered this year’s tournament under an injury cloud but he has erased doubts by rummaging through the draw with relative ease.
Like Djokovic, he has yet to drop a set in Melbourne.
Djokovic appeared eager to send a statement to Nadal on Friday that he was also peaking at the right time. His performance against Pouille only reinforces that notion. The six-time champion is clearly ready to give everything to become the first man to ever claim a seventh Aussie Open title.
More to follow…