"Rod Laver did it, so why can't I?" Those were the words of Novak Djokovic yesterday, jaded on almost no sleep but still buzzing after the greatest match of his life.
Having finished his dramatic contest over Rafael Nadal to win Australian Open title No.3 and grand slam trophy No.5, the indefatigable Serb was back at the site of his triumph yesterday, reliving every minute of a match none of the 15,000 people present will quickly forget.
The 24-year-old, dressed in shorts, flip-flops and a zip-up jacket, and grinning from ear to ear, revealed that when sleep was not possible he turned on the television to watch the highlights of his victory. Even the champions like to see how it was done.
"Today I only slept for a couple of hours but it was worth it," Djokovic said. "All this effort that we both put in last night on the tennis court was incredible. It was something that we will both remember forever.
"I felt lots of pain all over the body, adrenaline is still there and I still am very excited about what I have experienced here in the last two weeks, and especially last night.
"And I'm full of joy, but I still don't have a real sense of what is going on. I think I will feel that when I go back home and take some time and enjoy the success."
As the winner of the first grand slam event of the year, Djokovic is the only man who could win the precious calendar-year grand slam of the sport's four biggest events – Wimbledon, the French Open, US Open and Australian Open.
With Australia in the bag and having won the previous two slams as well, victory at the French Open in June would give him a non-calendar grand slam – a rare enough thing – but the Serb is trying to emulate what Laver achieved (for a second time) in 1969.
"One player has done it in the open era so it is possible," Djokovic said. "Obviously the times are different. Tennis now is much more competitive and much more physical and that makes that challenge more difficult to achieve.
"But everything is possible. I need to go slowly and really take one tournament at a time but grand slams are my biggest priority – including Olympics – and I will try to aim my form for those tournaments."
The French Open is the only grand slam title Djokovic has not won and with Nadal having won at Roland Garros in six of the past seven years, upending the Spaniard on his beloved clay is the ultimate goal.
Last year, Djokovic arrived in Paris as the favourite, having beaten Nadal in the final of the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome, only to lose to Roger Federer in the semi-finals.
That ended a run of 41 straight victories since the start of 2011 but, if anything, he looks even more unbeatable this year. "The way I'm playing right now I think I have a game that is good enough to win the titles on all surfaces," he said.
Within minutes of leaving the court after a match that finished at 1.37am, Djokovic was embraced by his girlfriend, Jelena Ristic, who was chief cheerleader throughout the fortnight. Then he found time to check in on the staff party at Melbourne Park, blasting out a quick rendition of AC/DC's Highway to Hell.
His celebrations continued with his support team, including coach Marian Vajda and his physio. The Djokovic team are an integral part of his success and they have never been more necessary than after Djokovic had beaten Andy Murray 7-5 in the final set of a stunning semi-final, in which Murray had three chances to break for a 6-5 lead in the fifth.
It was a brutal match, full of epic rallies, and with Nadal having played his semi-final against Federer the previous night, Djokovic had 24 hours less to recover than his opponent. Being as fit as he was for the final was an incredible effort.
"Everybody has a different routine, different scheduling and a programme of practising and recovering, preparing for what's coming up," he said. "It's an individual sport so we all try to rely on the people who are travelling with us. This is a team effort because I couldn't do it myself. I need all these people to take care of every aspect of my career, for my body, in order for me to be able to be ready to perform the way I did."
When Nadal led 4-2, 30-15, on his own serve in the final set, Djokovic was almost beaten, but when the world No.2 missed a simple backhand on the next point, his hopes were raised again.
"The match could have gone either way," he said. "The match almost went six hours. Adding to all that, it was a grand slam final and a win against the biggest rival. Under the circumstances it was definitely the greatest match I've ever played."
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