Djokovic and Nadal know each other, their styles and their patterns all too well. This was their 53rd meeting - more than any other pair of men in the half-century professional era - and record-equaling 15th at a Grand Slam tournament. It was also their eighth matchup in a major final.

So there should not have been any mysteries out there on Rod Laver Arena's blue court as they began with the temperature, which had topped 40 C in recent days, at a manageable 25 C and just a hint of wind.

Right from the start, though, this shaped up nothing like their only previous Australian Open title match, back in 2012, which Djokovic won in 5 hours, 53 minutes, the longest Grand Slam final in history.

Evenly matched as they were that night, this time was no contest. None whatsoever. It lasted a tad more than 2 hours.