It’s hard to believe that none of the other great men’s-tennis stars of the Open era (which began in 1968) could accomplish what Novak Djokovic did on Jan. 27: win a third consecutive Australian Open.
The splendid Serb overcame a slow start to defeat Britain’s Andy Murray, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-2. The victory–revenge for losses to Murray last year in the Summer Olympics and U.S. Open–re-establishes Djokovic as the king of men’s tennis. When the clay-court season begins to heat up next month, the world’s top-ranking player will have his sights on completing a career Grand Slam at the French Open in June.