Djokovic captures 17th Grand Slam title with Australian Open victory

Tennis legend Novak Djokovic captured his 17th Grand Slam title after rallying Sunday to defeat Austrian Dominic Thiem in the Australian Open's men's singles finals at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. Djokovic was down two sets to one and at one point lost six straight games to Thiem, but he settled down and secured the victory in five sets, 6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.

It's the 32-year-old Serbian's eighth Australian Open crown and his second in a row. With the win, Djokovic inches closer to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who have 20 and 19 Grand Slam titles, respectively, and are both older than their on-court rival, giving him a real chance to emerge from the era of tripartite dominance with the most hardware. Djokovic will also reportedly supplant Nadal as the world's no. 1 men's player as a result of the Melbourne win.

The 26-year-old Thiem has now appeared in three major titles, but has yet to get his hands on a trophy after previously losing twice to Nadal in the last two French Opens. One day, perhaps, Djokovic and Nadal will hang 'em up. Read more at ESPN.