January 29, 2012: The day Djokovic and Nadal played 5 hours and 53 minutes in the final of the Australian Open

What Happened That Day and Why It’s Historic: The Longest Grand Slam Final in History

On January 29, 2012, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal played the most beautiful final in the history of the Australian Open. After five hours and fifty-three minutes, making it the longest match in the history of the tournament and the longest Grand Slam final ever timed, the Serb defeated the Spaniard (5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7, 7-5). Remarkable for its duration, the final was of an extremely high level and its constant intensity left the tennis world speechless.

The players: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal

• Novak Djokovic, the former number 3 who became the boss

Novak Djokovic was born in 1987. He entered the Top 100 in 2005, a season he finished at No 83 in the world. In 2006, he made a name for himself when, ranked No 63 in the world, he reached the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros after eliminating world No 9 Fernando Gonzalez in the second round. His career took off in 2007: he reached the semi-finals at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon (each time stopped by Rafael Nadal) before making his way to the final of the US Open where he was defeated by Roger Federer (7-6, 7-6, 6-4). At the beginning of 2008, he triumphed for the first time in a Grand Slam, at the Australian Open, at the expense of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6). Djokovic remained in third place for three years, regularly reaching the last rounds of major events where he constantly came up against Federer and Nadal who prevented him from adding new major titles to his record.

The tide turned in 2011, when Djokovic had an almost perfect first half of the season. After triumphing at the Australian Open, to the great displeasure of Andy Murray, he remained unbeaten for 42 matches, until Roger Federer beat him in the semi-finals of Roland-Garros. The Serb then won Wimbledon and the US Open, both times at the expense of Nadal. Having won ten tournaments during the year, he is having one of the greatest seasons in the history of tennis. At the beginning of 2012, observers wondered if he would be able to maintain this level of play.

• Rafael Nadal, the king of clay who has become an ace of fast surfaces

In January 2012, Rafael Nadal was only 25 years old, but his exploits had already guaranteed him a chapter in the tennis history books. His statistics on clay are incredible. Almost invincible on his favourite surface, he won Roland-Garros in his first appearance (at the expense of Mariano Puerta, 6-7, 6-3, 6-1, 7-5), and since then, he has triumphed five more times in Paris, in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2011, posting 45 wins and only one defeat. Apart from Robin Söderling, who eliminated him in the round of 16 in 2009 (6-2, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6), no one has managed to take more than one set from Nadal at Roland-Garros. He also holds a record of 81 consecutive victories on clay, a surface on which he has won a total of 32 tournaments. In addition, following his second Grand Slam success, he has evolved his game, making it more aggressive in order to be more comfortable on fast surfaces.

Defeated by Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final in 2006 and 2007, he finally won at the All England Club in 2008, defeating his Swiss rival in one of the most beautiful matches of all time (6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-7, 9-7). He became world No. 1 for the first time, ending Federer’s 237-week reign. In 2009, he won his first Grand Slam tournament on hard court, at the Australian Open, where he got out of a five-hour semi-final against Fernando Verdasco (6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4) before battling for five sets to beat Federer in the final (7-5, 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-2).

Injuries plagued him for the next twelve months, but he came back stronger than ever in 2010, taking revenge on Söderling in the final of Roland-Garros (6-4, 6-2, 6-4) before winning Wimbledon for the second time, dismissing Tomas Berdych in the final (6-3, 7-5, 6-4). In September 2010, he achieved the career Grand Slam by beating Novak Djokovic in the final of the US Open (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2), and at that time, he seemed to be on his way to dominating tennis. But in 2011, the Serb raised his level of play and became the new leader of the circuit. Beaten by Djokovic in the finals at Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Rome, Wimbledon and the US Open, the Spaniard saved his season by winning a sixth title at Roland-Garros, beating Federer once again in the final (7-5, 7-6, 5-7, 6-1).

The venue: Rod Laver Arena

Unlike other Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open (first called the Australasian Championship and then the Australian Championship) has changed venues several times over the years. The event even changed cities every year before moving to Melbourne in 1972, and no less than five Australian cities have hosted it at least three times: Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. Its dates have also been quite fluid, between the beginning of December and the end of January, making the Australian Open sometimes the first, sometimes the last Grand Slam of the season.

Until 1982, most of the best players skipped the event because of its remoteness and insufficient prize money. But from Mats Wilander’s victory, the dynamic changed. To make the tournament more attractive, the tournament committee made a huge effort that led to the event being moved to a new venue, Flinders Park (later renamed Melbourne Park), the abandonment of grass for hard courts, and the construction of the first centre court with a retractable roof. The prize money also increased, and it only took a few years for the Australian Open to become the favorite Grand Slam of many players.

The story: Djokovic – Nadal, at the end of the night and exhaustion

At the start of the 2012 Australian Open, there was only one favourite: Novak Djokovic. Despite the presence of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, the Serb has been so successful in 2011 that it seems difficult to choose another favourite. He achieved the Little Slam, and beat Nadal in six consecutive finals on the tour. In addition, the Swiss and the Spaniard are in the same part of the draw, which means that Djokovic would only have to beat one of the two to lift the cup.

The world No. 1 is on his way to the semi-finals. But when he got there, he came close to elimination against Andy Murray, whom he ended up defeating after four hours and fifty minutes of fierce struggle (6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-1, 7-5).

Nadal, world No. 2, reached the final without too much difficulty, dropping only one set against Tomas Berdych in the quarter-finals (6-7, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3) and another in the semi-finals against Federer (6-7, 7-6, 6-2, 6-4).

Although Nadal had been beaten in his last six meetings with Djokovic, he got off to the best start and took the first set, 7-5. Unfortunately for him, the Serb then tightened up the game to win the next two sets, 6-4, 6-2. It was during the last two sets that the intensity reached its peak. Despite the length of the match, the level of play never decreased. Nadal having snatched the fourth set at the end of a fantastic tie-break, the public was treated to a fifth set that would become legendary. Both players delivered an incredible performance until the end of the suspense, and, after Nadal squandered a great opportunity to break away for 5-2, it was Djokovic who took the upper hand, 7-5 in the fifth set.

At the trophy ceremony, the players are so exhausted that they are provided with chairs to sit on.

“Hello everyone,” joked Nadal, as he began his finalist speech at 1:50 a.m.

When given the microphone, Djokovic, who has just won his third Australian Open crown, praises his opponent.

“Rafa, you’re one of the best players of all time, one of the most respected on the tour. We have made history tonight; Unfortunately, there could not be two winners. I wish you all the best for this season and I hope we will play many more finals like this.”

Later, the Serb will say a little more about the scope of his feat.

“I think it’s special, because just the fact that we played almost six hours is incredible. I’m very proud to be part of this history, to be one of the elite players who have won this tournament many times. I was very flattered to play in front of Rod Laver, in front of the greatest of all time, and in front of 15,000 people who stayed until 1:30 in the morning.”

Posterity of the moment: A historical rivalry

That year, Nadal won a seventh crown at Roland Garros. Djokovic won’t win any more Grand Slams until the next Australian Open, but generally speaking, he will remain the dominant player of the 2010s, spending no less than 334 weeks as world No. 1.

In the following years, the two players would face each other so often (60 times) that some would consider their rivalry to be the greatest of all time, with Djokovic leading 31-29 head-to-head.