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NEW YORK -- Adam LaRoche grabbed a different bat and suddenly solved the enigma of R.A. Dickey. LaRoche hit a tiebreaking homer and the Washington Nationals handed Dickey his first loss in three months, beating the sinking New York Mets 5-2 Tuesday night behind Gio Gonzalezs seven crisp innings. At the suggestion of injured teammate Ian Desmond, LaRoche switched bats in the sixth to a lighter model that belonged to speedy outfielder Roger Bernadina. "Ive been using a heavier bat and obviously it hasnt been working against Dickey, so I figured it was time to try something new," said LaRoche, who was 2 for 14 against the knuckleballer before his long home run. Gonzalez (13-5) gave up only two singles in a rematch of All-Star pitchers, five days after New York hit him hard to back Dickey during his 13th win. This time, it went the other way. "Just wanted to redeem myself from the last start," Gonzalez said. "You always want to bounce back as a pitcher. You dont want to feel down and out. A lot of these guys came up to me and gave me some positive energy, positive feedback. So the best I wanted to do was return the favour." Dickey (13-2) allowed five consecutive hits in the sixth, ending his 11-game winning streak, as the Mets lost their fifth straight and 11th in 12 games. Their lone victory since July 7 was Dickeys 9-5 win over Gonzalez last Thursday in Washington. In a mini shake-up before the game, New York demoted slumping right fielder Lucas Duda to the minors. "When youre not playing good baseball against teams like this, they exploit you pretty quickly," Mets third baseman David Wright said. "This stretch is not going to define us over the course of the year." Ryan Zimmerman kept up his tear at the plate with three hits and the Nationals won their fourth in a row to improve the NLs best record to 57-39. They are 8-3 against the Mets this season, winning all four series so far, and will go for a three-game sweep Wednesday at noon with ace Stephen Strasburg on the mound against rookie Jeremy Hefner. "I think were clicking pretty good," LaRoche said. "It can get better, but its pretty good right now." Sean Burnett got three outs in the eighth and Tyler Clippard fanned two in a perfect ninth, finishing the three-hitter for his 17th save. Gonzalez struck out four, walked two and did not allow an earned run in his longest outing since May 27. "It was a masterpiece," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "He had something to prove." Jordany Valdespin set a Mets record with his fifth pinch-hit homer of the season. The rookie connected off Ryan Mattheus leading off the eighth, breaking a mark he previously shared with Mark Carreon (1989) and Danny Heep (1983). Dickey was 11-0 in his previous 16 starts since getting roughed up in a 14-6 loss April 18 on a rainy day in Atlanta. Trying to become the first 14-game winner in the majors, he was unable to stop New Yorks nasty slide. He yielded five runs -- four earned -- and eight hits in six innings. The 37-year-old right-hander tossed an inning of relief Saturday against the Dodgers to help an overworked bullpen, only two days after throwing 111 pitches over 7 1-3 innings in Washington. He has a 5.36 ERA in his last seven outings. "I had a good knuckleball," Dickey said. "I should have pitched into the eighth inning. I felt too good for that to happen." Dickey whiffed star rookie Bryce Harper all three times on knuckleballs ranging from 66-81 mph and was in command until the sixth, when he gave up five straight hits with two outs. Michael Morse singled and LaRoche drove a low knuckler into the upper deck in right, snapping a 1-all tie with his 17th homer. Danny Espinosa singled, Bernadina beat out a slow dribbler toward first and Jesus Flores hit an RBI single to left. Jason Bays wide throw to the plate got away for an error that allowed Bernadina to score, making it 5-1. Espinosas throwing error at shortstop led to an unearned run in the second. Ronny Cedeno hit an RBI single to right with two outs, giving New York its first lead in 42 innings since last Thursday, but was thrown out by Harper trying to stretch it into a double. Gonzalez retired his next 11 batters and did not permit another hit until Ike Davis two-out single in the seventh. A switch-hitter, Espinosa batted right-handed against Dickey to get a better look at the knuckleball. The first time up, Espinosa struck out swinging. But in the fourth, his two-out double tied it 1-all after Zimmerman opened the inning with a bloop double. NOTES: Flores (back) was back behind the plate after sitting out two games. ... Washington is 9-1-3 in series against NL East opponents. ... Harper is 0 for 10 against Dickey with six strikeouts. ... 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MELBOURNE, Australia -- Novak Djokovic wore down Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam singles final in the history of professional tennis Sunday, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 after 5 hours, 53 minutes to claim his third Australian Open title. Djokovic overcame a break in the fifth set to win his fifth Grand Slam tournament and third in a row. None, though, quite like this. This one involved tears, sweat and, yes, even a little blood. It was the longest Grand Slam singles final in the history of pro tennis and it came against Nadal, the player who built a career on his tenacity -- on outlasting opponents in matches like these. "It was obvious on the court for everybody who has watched the match that both of us, physically, we took the last drop of energy that we had from our bodies," Djokovic said. "We made history tonight and unfortunately there couldnt be two winners." When the drama was finally over at Rod Laver Arena, the 24-year-old Djokovic joined Laver, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Nadal as the only men who have won three consecutive majors since the Open Era began in 1968. Nadal was his vanquished opponent in all three. Djokovic will go for the "Nole Slam" at Roland Garros in May. As the players waited for the trophy presentation, Nadal leaned on the net, while Djokovic sat on his haunches. Eventually, a nearby official took pity and they were given chairs and bottles of water. Nadal held his composure during the formalities, and even opened his speech with a lighthearted one-liner. "Good morning, everybody," he said. A few minutes earlier, after hugging Nadal at the net, Djokovic tore off his sweat-soaked black shirt and headed toward his players box, pumping his arms repeatedly as he roared. He walked over to his girlfriend, his coach and the rest of his support team and banged on the advertising signs at the side of the court. "I think it was just the matter of maybe luck in some moments and matter of wanting this more than maybe other player in the certain point," Djokovic said. "Its just incredible effort. Youre in pain, youre suffer(ing). Youre trying to activate your legs. Youre going through so much suffering your toes are bleeding. Everything is just outrageous, but youre still enjoying that pain." The match was full of long rallies and amazing gets. Djokovic finished with 57 winners, along with 69 unforced errors. Nadal had 44 winners against 71 unforced errors. Laver was part of the 15,000-strong crowd when the players walked on at 7:30 p.m. Sunday to flip the coin and start the warmup. He was still there, along with most of the crowd, after 2 a.m. for the trophy presentations. Djokovic called it the most special of his five Grand Slam wins. "This one I think comes out on the top because just the fact that we played almost six hours is incredible, incredible," he said. "I think its probably the longest finals in the history of all Grand Slams, and just to hear that fact is making me cry, really. "Im very proud just to be part of this history." It went so long because Nadal refused to yield. He was trying to avoid becoming the first man to lose three consecutive Grand Slam finals -- and seeing his losing streak in finals stretch to seven against Djokovic, who beat him for the Wimbledon and U.S. Open titles and took his No. 1 ranking last year. After a grueling four-set loss to Djokovic at Flushing Meadows last year, Nadal said that, indeed, he may have found a slight opening -- a glimmer of hope for next time against the player who dominated the 2011 season and had dismantled him time and again over the year. This one was, in fact, closer, though not necessarily because of any strategic changes, but rather, because Rafa summoned up the heart to take this one the distance. Nadal stayed in the contest for almost every point, sprinting from one side of the court to the other, chasing down balls and making Djokovic work extra time for the victory. But in the end, the same man was holding the trophy. Nadal thought his win in the 2008 final against Federer was the best match hes played, but gave Sundays match a top place in his personal rankings nonetheless. "This one was very special,," he said.dddddddddddd "But I really understand that was a really special match, and probably a match thats going to be in my mind not because I lost, no, because the way that we played." Djokovic had his off moments during this two-week tournament Down Under. He appeared to struggle for breath in his quarterfinal win over No. 5 David Ferrer and again during his five-set semifinal win over No. 4 Andy Murray. He blamed it on allergies, and he managed to control it better against Nadal. Yet, at times in the final, he looked as if he couldnt go on. When Nadal fended off three break points at 4-4 in the fourth set to win the game, spectators jumped to their feet and chanted "Rafa, Rafa, Rafa, Rafa!" Djokovic had lost the momentum. Play was stopped moments later when rain started to fall and a suddenly animated Nadal threw his arms up in disbelief and walked slowly back to his chair. The stadium roof was then closed. Djokovic picked up his game after a 10-minute break and his pockets of supporters waved their Serbian flags again and started their own competing chant of "Nole, Nole, Nole" -- inserting Djokovics nickname where "Ole" belongs in the tune and rhythm of the Spanish soccer chant. It wasnt enough to get him through the tiebreaker in the fourth set, though, when Nadal won the last four points to finish it in 88 minutes. Nadal dropped to his knees on the baseline and pumped his arms at that point, celebrating as if hed won the final. All hed done was prolong it. This pair had never gone to five sets. Just as he did during the first set, Djokovic took off a white shirt and replaced it with a black one. It didnt seem to help immediately as he went down a break and a defeat loomed. The match clock hit five hours with the score 2-2 in the fifth. Nadal won the next point and Djokovic started to stumble slightly, unsteady on his feet. Nadal held that game without losing a point and then broke Djokovic for a 4-2 lead. The turning point came in the next game, when Nadal had an open court but knocked a backhand volley wide down the line. He challenged the call, but the ball was clearly out. Instead of being up 40-15 and one point from a 5-2 lead, the game score became 30-30. Djokovic found energy again and got a break point with a backhand that forced an error from Nadal. He pounced on a Nadal second serve to convert the break as the match clock ticked to 5:15, confirming it as the longest match in the history of the Australian Open. Nadal had that record, at 5:14, in his five-set semifinal win over fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in 2009. This match had already long surpassed Mats Wilanders win over Ivan Lendl at the 1988 U.S. Open, in 4:54, as the longest final in the terms of duration. Djokovic started to look better physically and Nadal started to make some unforced errors, giving the Serbian some extra seconds between points to get his heavy breathing under control. After getting back on serve at 4-4, Djokovic kissed the crucifix around his neck twice. With Nadal serving, the pair engaged in a 31-shot rally that Nadal finally won when Djokovic committed a backhand error. The Serb fell flat on his back on the court, fully stretched out, arms over his head, while Nadal doubled over on his side of the court, hands perched on his knees. It appeared Djokovic was ready to throw in the towel, but he said he never thought about staying down. "At that point I was just thinking of getting some air and trying to recover for next point," he said. "Thousand thoughts going through the mind. Trying to separate the right from wrong. Trying to prioritize the next point. Im playing against one of the best players ever -- the player that is so mentally strong. He was going for everything or nothing." When Djokovic got the break to go up 5-4, the Serbian fans jumped up with their flags and screamed while the rest of the crowd sat in stony silence. After kissing the crucifix around his neck repeatedly in the later games, Djokovic openly prayed out loud and looked upward as he got within points of sealing his victory. "I was trying find every possible help and energy that I possibly can," he said. "It paid off I guess." ' ' '