Djokovic edges out Nadal in historic Australian Open

 　　MELBOURNE, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Defending champion and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic won his third Australian Open title after beating 10-time Grand Slam¹ winner Rafael Nadal of Spain 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5) and 7-5 in a historic² final here Sunday evening.

　　Djokovic has now won five Grand Slam titles, four of which came from the latest five Grand Slams³. He continued his recent domination over the second seeded Spaniard, having beaten him in their last seven meetings, all in finals.

　　"I'm playing against one of the greatest players ever. Nadal is so mentally strong and always comes up with his best game and best shots at the right moments," said Djokovic.

　　"Unfortunately there had to only be one winner because we both gave it all," he added. "Unfortunately there couldn't be two winners."

　　It was Nadal's first time to lose a Grand Slam final after winning the first set. He broke Djokovic's serve game twice in the first set, the fifth and 11th games.

　　"I wanted to win, but I'm happy about how I did. I had chances against the best player of the world today," said Nadal. "(I'm) so very happy about the beginning of the 2012 season. I'm happy I am in the real right way."

　　"I suffered during the match, but I enjoyed all the troubles that I had during all the match.

　　"I played more aggressive. I played with more winners than ever. My serve worked well. The mentality⁴ and the passion was there, another time better than, probably never another one," added Nadal. "So very happy for everything."

　　Djokovic managed to turn the match when he won to go 3-1 up with a superb⁵ volley after lucky netcord. But a double fault for the set allowed Nadal to bring it back to 5-4, only for the Spaniard to do the same in the next serve game and give the set to the Serbian.

　　Djokovic played his best tennis of the match in the third set. Nadal failed to adapt to the depth of Djokovic's groundstrokes, setting⁶ up winners for the Serbian as he broke twice en route to a 6-2 win in 45 minutes, the shortest set of the marathon final.

1 slam   

v.猛力地推、放或扔；砰地关上

参考例句：

• They were surprised by the slam of a car door.关汽车门时发出的声音使他们很吃惊。
• Why should you slam the window?你干吗要使劲关窗户呢？

2 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

3 slams   

v.砰地关上（门或窗）( slam的第三人称单数 )；用力一放；使劲一推；猛劲一摔

参考例句：

• I'm sick of your slams. 对于你的谩骂我真受够了。 来自辞典例句
• Kentucky steal Ball and Ron Mercen slams for two. 肯塔基队争到球，罗恩默塞扣篮得2分。 来自互联网

4 mentality   

n.心理，思想，脑力

参考例句：

• He has many years'experience of the criminal mentality.他研究犯罪心理有多年经验。
• Running a business requires a very different mentality from being a salaried employee.经营企业所要求具备的心态和上班族的心态截然不同。

5 superb   

adj.高贵的，壮丽的，极好的

参考例句：

• The large bay has a superb backdrop of mountains.大海湾背靠着庄严的山脉。
• The hotel has a large dining room serving superb local cuisine.饭店有一个大餐厅供应上好的当地菜肴。

6 setting   

n.背景

参考例句：

• The play has its setting in Vienna.该剧以维也纳为背景。
• Where and when a story takes place is called the setting.故事发生的地点和时间称为故事背景。