TennisVideo

We May Have A New Winner For “Most Badass Tennis Celebration Of All Time”

In addition to now having mastered the sport of tennis in a way few ever have, Novak Djokovic is putting together some of the best victory celebrations we’ve seen in the game. Last year at Wimbledon, he ate grass. And this morning (yes, by the time it ended it was morning in Australia too), after beating Rafael Nadal in an instant-classic – literally, ESPN2 is replaying the match right now with “Instant Classic” branding – Australian Open final, the Djoker did this (GIF by Dan McQuade):

That was awesome…almost as awesome as the match that preceded it. Because over those five hours and 53 minutes culminating in a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 victory, Djokovic earned every bit of that shirt-ripping and every primal yell he let out. Only two nights after going five sets against Andy Murray, Djokovic outlasted arguably the most indomitably-spirited player tennis has ever had. If this one didn’t have quite as many insane rallies of last year’s U.S. Open final between the same two competitors, it was overloaded with pure will. Yeah, it was a badass celebration…because this was one badass match. Video of match point (and Djokovic’s celebration in video form) below.