Given the scintillating way both had performed throughout the tournament, with Nadal winning every set he played in his first six matches and with Djokovic winning all but two, it seemed certain that they would duel once again deep into the Melbourne night.

It was a match that was expected to dust off hallowed memories of what might have been their greatest combined moment of glory. In 2012, the two played one of the most epic finals in Grand Slam history, right on Laver’s sea-blue center court: a 5-hour-53-minute marathon won by Djokovic, the longest major final ever.

But a reprise was not to be. What unfolded was not even a reasonable facsimile.

Still, the night had its own way of being unforgettable. The final failed to offer drama, but it did present beauty — that of a top-flight athlete, among tennis’s greatest champions, operating at the very peak of his powers.

“Things started so quick,” Nadal said, snapping his fingers twice to emphasize the point. “He was pushing me to every ball. He played so well. He hit so long. His return was fantastic. He was super quick.”

Nadal, 32, did not appear particularly downcast after the match. Instead, it seemed as if he had simply resigned himself to the result. He noted that he had been injured and had not been able to prepare for the tournament as he had wished. Indeed, after pulling out of his semifinal match at the United States Open last September and then having ankle surgery, he had not played a match on tour until this tournament began.

But he also allowed that there had been nothing he could really do on Sunday against Djokovic, saying it “was unbelievable, the way that he played, no doubt about that.”