Now he is the best in the world

TENNIS: KEVIN MITCHELLhears Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal agree there is a sort of enjoyment in the pain during such an epic

WHEN THAT old miserablist Nietzsche said joy and suffering were inseparable, he probably did not imagine his theory would be endorsed by a Spanish tennis player after a grand slam final lasting five hours and 53 minutes in faraway Melbourne more than a century later.

If anything, Rafael Nadal put the point more succinctly here when he described his seventh successive loss against Novak Djokovic as “the toughest match I ever played”, adding: “You look around and you see the watch, five hours, four hours, three hours, finally five hours 53. Seems like never gonna finish, no? But that’s nice to be there fighting, trying to go to the limit, bring your body to the limit of his chances. Something I really enjoy, and I always said is good to suffer, enjoy – enjoy suffering, no?”

The winner saw it that way, too. “I absolutely agree with him,” Djokovic said.

“I maybe had a similar feeling in a couple of matches, but nothing like this. You are in pain, you suffer, you know you’re trying to activate your legs, you’re trying to push yourself another point, just one more point, one more game. You’re going through so much suffering your toes are bleeding. Everything is outrageous – but you’re still enjoying that pain.”

Was this his greatest match? “Wimbledon is right up there next to this one because it’s the tournament that I always dreamed of winning. But this one I think comes out on the top because we played almost six hours. That is incredible.”

He described, too, the blizzard of emotions that consumed him, especially so when he collapsed to the ground after he hit the last of 31 shots wide at 4-4 in the fifth.

“I was just thinking of getting some air and trying to recover for next point. A thousand thoughts going through the mind . . . trying to prioritise the next point, taking it step by step.”

He spotted also that Nadal was taking more risks than normal as the end approached. “In the last game when I was serving I had a feeling he was really trying to step into the backhand and forehand, going for everything or nothing.”

It was what he did to save two match points against Roger Federer in the US Open semi-final, and was chastised for it by the miffed Swiss, who preached the work ethic over hit-and-hope tennis.

The Spaniard has always described Federer as the best player in the history of the game. What, now, then of Djokovic? “Now he’s the best in the world,” Nadal said.

“That’s how great it is. He has a part of the history today, winning five grand slams.”

Where Djokovic was heading as dawn approached was off to “celebrate like a Serb”.

Guardian service

NOVAK DJOKOVIC: HIS FACTFILE

EARLY CAREER

* Born: Belgrade, May 22, 1987.

* Began playing tennis aged four.

MAKING HIS MARK

* His first full year on tour was in 2005, when he made his grand slam debut as a qualifier at the Australian Open, losing to Marat Safin in the first round. He finished as the youngest player (18 years, five months) inside the top 100.

* Coached by Slovak former ATP professional Marian Vajda since 2006. p In 2006, he won his first ATP tour title at Amersfoort, and followed that with second title indoors at Metz.

GRAND SLAM AGONY ECSTASY p He retired in the 2006 French Open quarter-finals against Nadal when trailing by two sets and again a year later due to blisters in the Wimbledon semi-final against the same opponent. p In 2007, he won five titles (Adelaide, Miami, Estoril, Montreal and Vienna), made the semi-finals at the French Open and Wimbledon and advanced to his first grand slam final at the US Open, losing to Roger Federer 7-6 7-6 6-4.

* He broke the Federer-Nadal grand slam duopoly by beating Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to win his maiden major title at Melbourne Park in 2008.

* He failed to defend his title in Melbourne the next year after pulling out of his quarter-final against Andy Roddick citing heat exhaustion on a sweltering day.

* Lost in the quarter-final at Melbourne Park to Tsonga in 2010 when he suffered a stomach bug.

* He upset Federer in the semi-finals of the 2010 US Open before losing in four sets to Nadal in the final.

* Led Serbia to their first Davis Cup title with victory over France in Belgrade in December, 2010.

SUPERB SEASON

* Began 2011 by winning the Australian Open, beating Andy Murray in the final, to end his three-year wait for a second grand slam.

* Won his next six tournaments. He did not lose again until June 3rd when Federer ended his 41-match winning streak in 2011 in the French Open semi-finals.

* He secured the number one spot on July 4th by beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Wimbledon semi-finals, then beat Nadal to clinch his first Wimbledon title, his first on grass.

* He won a record fifth Masters title in a season when he won in Toronto.

* Saved two match points to beat Federer in the semi-finals of the US Open then defeated Nadal in the final to become just the seventh man to win three grand slams in a year since tennis turned professional in 1968.

DOMINANCE CONTINUED

* Chose not to play any warm-up events before Australian Open title defence and has been troubled with allergies and problems with his breathing throughout the tournament.

* Looked out on his feet in his semi-final but rallied with a blistering fourth-set performance that got him back into the match.