Shortly before Novak Djokovic took the court for Sunday’s Australian Open men’s final, a racket he used to win the 2012 tournament set a record for the highest selling price for any game-used racket.
Djokovic’s racket was sold Saturday night by SCP Auctions for $540,000, which obliterated the record set by Carlos Alcaraz in October. Alcaraz, who coincidentally defeated Djokovic on Sunday to complete his Grand Slam, had the racket from his first Wimbledon title sold for $173,066.
Djokovic’s racket, according to cllct, was photo-matched to his match point in the 2012 Australian Open. That match ranks among the greatest in tennis annals as Djokovic needed an Australian Open-record five hours and 53 minutes to defeat Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5.
The match, which featured the top two players in the rankings at the time, also broke the record for longest match in a major final. It marked the fifth of Djokovic’s record 24 major singles titles.
–Field Level Media
