Djokovic beats Nadal to win Australian Open

Novak Djokovic has beaten Rafael Nadal to retain the Australian Open title in the longest ever Grand Slam final.

The world number one edged out the world number two over five sets, eventually prevailing 5-7 6-4 6-2 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 after an exhausting five hours and 53 minute epic.

The victory is Djokovic’s third Grand Slam win in a row, and his fifth overall after winning Wimbledon and the U.S Open in 2010.

He also has an impressive record against Nadal, who he beat in both of those finals and has now won seven straight finals against.

To add to the impressive statistics Djokovic joins an elite list of tennis players who have won three Slams in a row, alongside Roger Federer, Rod Laver, Pete Sampras and Nadal.

The length of the match smashed the previous record of four hours and 54 minutes set when Mats Wilander defeated Ivan Lendl for the 1988 U.S. Open title.