Nadal bows to new tennis king Djokovic

By Bill Scott Jan 29, 2012, 16:47 GMT

Melbourne - Rafael Nadal lost his seventh straight final to Novak Djokovic as the Serb triumphed in an historic Australian Open marathon, with the Spaniard finally proclaiming the unstoppable Serb the new king of the courts.

'Now he's the best of the world. That's how great it is,' said Nadal after suffering a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5-7), 7-5 defeat which set a Grand Slam record for a title match of five hours, 53 minutes.

'Five Grand Slams (for Djokovic). So the history says that he had a part in the history today, winning a lot of titles, number one of the world.'

After asking the epic struggle into the fifth set as Djokovic's level dropped ever so slightly to lose the fourth, Nadal felt comfortable with a 4-2 lead. But the margin was not to stand.

'I felt very well physically in the moment, I felt with very positive energy, and I played a fantastic first point of the 4-2 with the forehand winner down the line,' said the six-time Roland Garros champion.

'It's something unbelievable how he returns, his return is probably is one of the best of the history. I've never played against a player who's able to return like this. Almost every time.'

Nadal was obviously disappointed but far from broken after the exhilaration of the battle of tennis warriors. He said time seemed suspended in the record contest.

'You look around and you see the clock, five hours, four hours, three hours, finally five hours, 30. Seems like never gonna finish.

'But it's nice be there fighting, trying to go to the limit, bring your body to the limit of its chances. Something I really enjoy, and I always said is that I enjoy suffering

'When you are fit, with passion for the game, when you are ready to compete, you are able to suffer and enjoy suffering. Today I had this feeling, and is a really good one.

'I enjoyed. I suffered during the match, but I enjoyed all the troubles that I had during all the match.'

But the one-time tennis iron man did admit that he was severely tested. 'I'm tired, sure. Physically was the toughest match I ever played.'

Nadal, 25, will more than deserve the February break which he had already announced to keep himself fresh for a long season which also includes the London Olympic Games.

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