Novak Djokovic will be back in 2013 to defend his Australian Open crown for a record third, successive title. Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in an epic five-setter in the Australian Open final.
In the women’s section of the draw, Victoria Azarenka will want to return to the site of her first ever Grand Slam win – one that also helped her achieve the number one ranking for the first time.
Djokovic was a 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 winner over Nadal in the final after having beaten Andy Murray in the semi-final in another tough, five-setter. Earlier, Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the other semi-final to give himself a second shot at the title.
The win for Djokovic means that Nadal continues to stay at 10 Grand Slam titles and will like to further his tally when he features in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Federer has 16 Grand Slam titles to his credit while Djokovic has now won eight.
In the women’s singles, defending champion Kim Clijsters was dumped out in the semi-final and may not participate in the next edition of the tournament, given this is her last season. She lost to the eventual champion Azarenka, who went on to crush Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in the final. At one stage, it was 3-3 in the first set before the Belarusian reeled off nine games in a row to win the title.
Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won the men’s doubles title at the 2012 edition of the Australian Open while Russians Svetlana Kuznetsova and Vera Zvonareva will come into the 2013 Australian Open as defending champions in the women’s doubles championship. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Horia Tecau were the mixed doubles champions.
The 2013 edition of the Australian Open will begin from January 14. The final will be played on January 27.
