Will the king fall against the gladiator? Only time will tell

Melbourne, February 1

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“King” Novak Djokovic has won all seven Australian Open finals he has contested, he is on a 12-match winning streak and will become world No. 1 if successful in the Melbourne Park decider tomorrow.

Against those overwhelming odds, few are giving Dominic Thiem much of a chance to wrench the title from his iron grip and clinch a maiden Grand Slam.

Djokovic is 6-4 in their career head-to-heads, but Thiem has won four of the last five. Three of those were on his favoured clay, but he also came from a set down to beat the Serb on hardcourts at the ATP Finals in November. Djokovic is the first to admit that the slick 26-year-old has successfully refined his game over the past 12 months to compete on all surfaces. And he acknowledges it is just a matter of time before Thiem wins a Slam.

“I don’t think he’s really anymore ‘next generation’. He’s been around for many years. Now already he’s an established top-5, top-10 player,” said Djokovic. — AFP