2012 Australian Open final
- Fourth set, 4–3
Djokovic had three break points in a row at 0–40. Nadal saved them all, then came back from 3–5 in the tiebreak to win it 7–5.
BBC; ESPN - Fifth set, 4–2, 30–15
With Djokovic stranded, Nadal missed an open backhand wide. 'It's true I had big mistake with 30–15,' he said. Djokovic broke back that game.
AP; BBC - Fifth set, 5–5
Djokovic broke again and served it out, saving the 26th break point of the match in the final game.
BBC
The stat sheet
| Djokovic | Nadal | |
|---|---|---|
| Aces | 9 | 10 |
| Double faults | 2 | 4 |
| First serves in | 59% | 67% |
| First-serve points won | 68% | 65% |
| Second-serve points won | 63% | 47% |
| Break points won | 7/20 | 4/6 |
| Total points won | 193 | 176 |
The match in numbers
Half the points lasted three shots or fewer and 19 % lasted ten or more, the longest rally profile of any of our classic finals. Nadal won 35 of the 68 long rallies.
Match Charting ProjectThe longest rally was 31 shots, at 4–4 in the fifth with Nadal serving.
Australian Open; Match Charting ProjectDjokovic won 63 % of his second-serve points to Nadal's 47 %, the clearest gap in the stat sheet.
tennis-db; Wikipedia
Point by point: the Match Charting Project log
Nadal's early plan was to break predictable cross-court patterns with flat balls down the line. When he drifted back into defence, he got pinned back.
ESPN live breakdown
Questions
What is the longest Grand Slam final?
The 2012 Australian Open final, Djokovic against Nadal: 5 hours 53 minutes.
What was the longest rally in the 2012 Australian Open final?
31 shots by the tournament's count and the charting, at 4–4 in the fifth set. ESPN counted 32.