Djokovic outlasts Nadal in longest Slam final

WINNING LONGEST GRANDSLAM FINAL Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after defeating Rafael Nadal of Spain during the men’s singles final at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, early Monday, Jan. 30, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic beat Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 2-6, 6-7 (5), 7-5 Sunday to win the Australian Open in the longest Grand Slam final in Open Era history.

The match, Djokovic’s third straight Grand Slam win, lasted 5 hours, 53 minutes, which was also the longest singles match at the Australian Open.

Nadal lost his third straight Grand Slam final in the match that finished at 1:37 a.m. Monday at Rod Laver Arena.

The previous longest Grand Slam final was 4:54, the 1988 U.S. Open match won by Mats Wilander over Ivan Lendl. The longest previous Australian final was 4:27 in 1988, with Wilander also winning against Pat Cash.