The undisputed king of Melbourne Park, the Serbian Novak Djokovic beat the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas this Sunday to win his tenth Australian Open, equal Rafael Nadal’s 22 Grand Slams and recover the ATP number one.
Triple reward for the Serbian star who, just over a year ago, was deported from Australia for not being vaccinated against covid-19 and saw how his Spanish rival took his favorite tournament and achieved the record for men’s tennis greats, extended then at Roland Garros.
Champion at Wimbledon and absent from the US Open also due to not being vaccinated, ‘Nole’ went to Melbourne as a great favourite, but his path was not easy: an injury to his left leg in the previous days almost removed him from the tournament and weighed him down the first week.
Recovered from the pain and with sublime tennis in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, it was the turn of the controversy: first, doubts as to whether he had faked the injury, then some images of his father with fans with pro-Russian symbols that made him not see the live match. semifinal and the final.
Released after Tsitsipas returned the last ball of the match long (6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5), Djokovic dropped onto his blue court, went up to the box to hug with his own and, hidden among the chairs, let out a disconsolate cry that still continued when he returned to the field.
“This has been one of the most challenging tournaments I’ve played in my life considering the circumstances: not playing last year, coming back this year. I want to thank everyone who made me feel welcome,” he said after collecting his prize, with the number 22 printed on the jacket.
“This is probably the biggest win in my life considering the circumstances,” added Djokovic, who has yet to lose a final in Australia.
“The King Has Returned”
Faced with a rival wanting revenge for the Roland Garros final lost in 2021 and unbeaten throughout 2023, Djokovic prevailed over the Greek from the outset, who could not do any damage with his serve or with his hits.
And contrary to what was demonstrated in this tournament, where he became a specialist in saving break points, he committed a double fault in his first compromising situation that gave the Serbian a definitive advantage for the first set.
It wasn’t until the second set that the Greek began to worry the Serb: he ensured his powerful serve (15 aces in the match), gave his shots more depth and began to prevail in the rallies from the back of the court.
However, Djokovic did not allow himself to be harassed and with a leg speed that made us forget the 11-year difference between the two, he reached multiple balls, forcing the Greek time and again to continue releasing winners and taking risks to take the points.
After successfully saving his only break point against, which was also a set point, it was enough for Djokovic to take advantage of the opponent’s mistakes to take the tiebreaker with an open serve that Tsitsipas could not return.
The Serbian started the following set on the wrong foot, with a double fault that would end up leading to Tsitsipas’ first break. But he reacted immediately and equalized the score, which would stay that way again in the tiebreaker.
And just seven points shy of his 22nd Grand Slam title, the Serb scored ground early on, with an incontestable serve and backhand winner that, coupled with three subsequent misses from the Greek, left him stroking glory at 5-0.
The Greek pressed and tried to put emotion, but then came a forehand from Djokovic on the line to confirm that, as the president of Tennis Australia said at the ceremony, “the king of Melbourne has returned.”
And for some, his kingdom encompasses much more: equaled in great with Rafael Nadal -two above the retired Roger Federer-, and with the record of weeks as number one in the ATP, the debate about whether it is the best of times is heats up.
“He’s one of the best in our sport,” Tsitsipas said cautiously. But under pressure from the stands, with numerous Serbs, the Greek got wet: “And I think he is the best to have held a tennis racket.”