It just concluded down under. There’s a new Australian Open champion and it’s Novak Djokovic. The 20 year-old made history by becoming the first ever Serbian to win a singles major by coming back to post a four set 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at a capacity Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne Park Sunday night.

He did it with great poise and amazing but deadly precision in outslugging the powerful Tsonga, who unseated four Top 15 players during a remarkable run to his first career final.

Despite a shaky beginning in which he was outhit by the 22 year-old Tsonga in the first set, Djokovic steadied his game and began to turn the tide by winning lengthy rallies in the second set. It didn’t start out promising as he was in trouble early down 0-30 in a game but dug out of it. He played the bigger points better.

Once Djokovic started serving well, he began to dig in on Tsonga’s second serve and attack it finally netting the break he needed to draw even.

Early in the match, it was Tsonga who made some amazing shots on the dead run including a forehand crosscourt reply which setup set point and then an even more unbelievable forehand topspin lob from a couple of feet behind the baseline which gave him the upper hand.

However, as the match unfolded, Djokovic turned up the heat boasting a steadier backhand which helped give him an edge from the baseline. Though the first-time grand slam winner had only two more winners (46-44), he was the fresher player throughout and grabbed control by breaking his lesser experienced opponent (just Tsonga’s fifth slam appearance) three times in the second and third sets to suddenly pull within one of his destiny.

Maybe the extra time on court for Tsonga was part of the reason for a dip in play which saw him committing more errors while also failing to make a dent on Djokovic’s serve. In fact, he didn’t reach another break point until deep into the fourth set which his opponent calmly fought off with some nifty touch at the net thanks to a backhand volley crosscourt winner.

Djokovic’s defense in particular won him a lot of points in a Australian Open Final which took better than three hours to complete before an energetic pro-Tsonga crowd. Despite challenging elements which even saw his very supportive family surrounded by a French contingent hoping their new hero could become the first male from their country to win a slam since Yannick Noah (1983 French Open), the 2007 U.S. Open runner-up had what it took to overcome everything and win his first career major.

That even included a bout with cramps where the enthusiastic Serb needed the trainer during a three-minute injury timeout to help reenergize him during the fourth set.

Tsonga certainly gave everything he had and more to get the exciting match to a deciding fifth set. The problem was his feisty No.3 ranked opponent wouldn’t cooperate despite his body beginning to feel the effects. It was his guts and desperation which allowed him to fight off the only break chance late in the set before it predictably went to a tiebreaker.

In it, Djokovic was more efficient while Tsonga forced the issue misfiring on a couple of crucial points to hand him a double mini-break 5-2 cushion. He already had done the impossible beating Roger Federer in straight sets. Novak certainly wasn’t going to let this golden opportunity slip away.

After some splendid hitting forced a Tsonga miscue, it setup four championship points. When his opponent’s forehand sailed a couple of feet wide, the victory was his. An emotional Djokovic fell to the Rod Laver court and kissed it before being congratulated by his very popular opponent.

It was a tremendous final which proved that the men’s game doesn’t need Federer or Rafael Nadal fighting for the championship at every slam. These two guys gave a tremendous effort and put on an outstanding show.

The only thing missing was a dramatic final set. Credit Djokovic for digging deep to finish off a determined Tsonga in the breaker where he improved to a remarkable 33-6 for his career. Not bad for a kid who’s only been on tour a shade over four years.

He’s definitely going to win more majors. The growing question is will he get in the way of Federer’s quest to match Pete Sampras’ record 14 slams? That along with whether Roger can finally complete the career grand slam on clay against Nadal should make for an intriguing season.

As for Tsonga, his enthusiasm and mannerisms are a joy to watch. You certainly hope he sticks around and doesn’t suffer a post-Aussie Final hangover a la Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis. He hasn’t quite been the same since his similar run two years prior. Ironically, he grabbed the first set off Federer before the world’s best player took the next three.

Hopefully, Tsonga will continue to play well and be a factor the rest of the year. It would also be nice to see Baghdatis reemerge.

All in all, a great first grand slam with a couple of 20 year-old champions in Djokovic and Russian Maria Sharapova.

Congrats to both. More reaction later today.