Djokovic beats Nadal in marathon clash

Novak Djokovic outlasted Rafael Nadal to retain his Australian Open title in the longest grand slam final of all time. The Serbian won an epic encounter 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7(5/7) 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes, beating the previous record of four hours...

Novak Djokovic outlasted Rafael Nadal to retain his Australian Open title in the longest grand slam final of all time.

The Serbian won an epic encounter 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-7(5/7) 7-5 in five hours and 53 minutes, beating the previous record of four hours and 54 minutes set by Ivan Lendl and Mats Wilander at the 1988 US Open.

The win in what was also the longest match ever at the Australian Open meant Djokovic became just the fifth man to win three successive grand slam titles following his victories at Wimbledon and the US Open last year.

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