2012 Australian Open – Men's singles final

The 2012 Australian Open Men's Singles final was the championship tennis match of the men's singles tournament at the 2012 Australian Open between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, at the time ranked the number 1 and 2 players in the world, respectively. A defining match in the Djokovic–Nadal rivalry, the Serb defeated the Spaniard 5–7, 6–4, 6–2, 6–7(5–7), 7–5 to win the tournament. It was both the longest Australian Open match and the longest major final match (by duration) in history, lasting 5 hours 53 minutes, overtaking the record previously set by the 1988 US Open final between Mats Wilander and Ivan Lendl. It is considered by some to be the greatest and most physical tennis match of all time. With both players at their highest levels, the match was regarded as a war of attrition with impeccable quality throughout the duration of play. It was the only time that Nadal lost a major final after winning the first set. The defeat also marks the first, and so far only, time that a man has lost in three consecutive major finals (with Djokovic defeating Nadal in the preceding Wimbledon and US Open finals). Before this final, Djokovic had played an epic semifinal match against the world No. 4 and Australian Open runner-up of the previous two years, Andy Murray, which also went five sets, lasting 4 hours and 50 minutes.