Novak Djokovic has won his record seventh Australian Open championship and a third consecutive Grand Slam title by beating Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 6-3 in the final at Rod Laver Arena.
The Serb was barely troubled as his 6-3 6-2 6-3 victory over the second seeded Nadal was fairly routine.
Nadal looked rattled throughout and made 23 unforced errors in the match as Djokovic’s intensity was too much for him on the day.
Djokovic, 31, won in two hours and four minutes to move clear of six-time men’s winners Roy Emerson and Roger Federer and stay two grand slams behind Nadal who has 17, and five behind Federer who is on 20. He has now passed American Pete Sampras to be third on the all time list.
It means so much for him as he screamed and fell to his knees after the final game.
He leads 28-25 in their record 53 meetings between two male players.
Djokovic continued his fine record of going on to win the tournament every time he has reached the semi-finals, while Nadal lost for a fourth time in the Melbourne showpiece.
Djokovic was mainly flawless and the one-sided game stunned the crowd who expected a fiercest of battle between the two rivals.
His tally of 34 winners and nine unforced errors highlights how high his level was and the fairly routine way Djokovic brushed him aside revealed who was ahead.