A record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title went to Novak Djokovic, who won his 10th Australian Open title. In order to win his 22nd grand slam title, the Serb defeated Greek opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. Since he was deported for not having Covid-19 vaccinations, he was unable to participate in the competition last year.
Djokovic, 35, accomplished this on Sunday night at Melbourne Park for the 28th time in a row. The Serbian defeated third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) to win his 10th Australian Open title, tying him with rival Rafael Nadal for the most major titles (22) in men’s tennis. The pair overtook the previous leader Roger Federer, who had 20 major titles, in the process. Before raising the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup, Djokovic gave each player in his players’ box a hug. In the meantime, a recurring conversation started to take place.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is defeated by Novak Djokovic, who wins his 10th Australian Open championship, 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-5. More than any other player, the current world No. 1 has won 22 Grand Slam titles. “The biggest victory of my life,” he declares. The top spot in the global rankings is once again held by Novak Djokovic. Sania Mirza has been a trailblazer in tennis despite retiring as a sleeping giant. The Australian Open will take place in Melbourne in 2023.
On his way to winning the Australian Open, Djokovic lost just one set for the third time in his career. He disgraced hometown favorite Alex de Minaur in the fourth round, followed by fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals, and American Tommy Paul in the decisive semifinal.
His greatest test would come from Tsitsipas, the No. 4 player in the world, but he easily passed it and repeated the outcome of the 2021 French Open final. While battering the ball from behind the baseline and chasing anything Tsitsipas sent over the net, he kept his unforced errors to a minimum. When the situation called for it, Djokovic, as usual, found a higher gear.
Tsitsipas appeared on stage without the grace and ease with which he had performed for almost two weeks. The best favorite in the game is Novak Djokovic, who prevails in roughly 95% of his matches after taking the opening set. In the coming weeks, Tsitsippingas will undoubtedly be worried about this hour.
Tsitsipas had set point when Djokovic made a hesitant attempt to return his meatball of a second serve. In the tiebreaker, he maintained his advantage thanks to his long forehand and loose backhand. The first two games of the third set’s tiebreak featured back-and-forth service breaks, and the following service games featured back-and-forth service breaks as well. In comparison to the final numbers, this one was not even close to the match itself. However, there wasn’t much debate about how or even when this would end. The first set was won by DjokNov, who has won 95 percent of his matches when he takes the first set.
There was the not-so-small matter of last year’s legal saga — he has alternately acknowledged the entire thing served as a form of motivation but has also said recently, “I’m over it” — and curiosity about the treatment he would receive when allowed to enter Australia because pandemic restrictions were relaxed.
He received a lot of loud cheers, but he also endured some persistent jeering during the competition, including applause on Sunday after his mistakes. There was the sore left hamstring that required constant bandaging up until the championship game, when only one piece of beige athletic tape was visible.
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