The Serb wins his tenth Australian Open by beating Tsitsipas in three sets, equals Rafa Nadal’s 22 Grand Slams and returns to number one in the rankings
Novak Djokovic is making history again in Melbourne. The Serbian tennis player once again writes his name in gold by winning his tenth Australian Open after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets (6-3, 7-6 and 7-6). An ongoing match dominated from start to finish by the tennis player from Belgrade, who has played 10 finals in Australia and won them all, leaving an aura of invincibility that we will not see in any player.
Not even Rafa Nadal at Phillipe Chatrier has such a devastating stat as Djokovic does at Rod Laver Arena. The Serbian is also number one in the world from next Monday, at the expense of Carlos Alcaraz, who drops to second place in the ranking. Tsitsipas, who also played as number one, is third.
With the tournament on Australian soil, Djokovic equals Rafa Nadal in number of Grand Slams, with 22. For the Serb, the division of the greats consists of 10 Australian Opens, 7 Wimbledon, 3 US Open and 2 Roland Garros. Instead, the Spaniard has 14 Roland Garros, 4 US Open, 2 Wimbledon and 2 Australian Open. The battle to be the best in history is at its peak, with both tennis players in the twilight of their careers and with their eyes on the next Grand Slams, which will be decisive in determining which side the balance falls on. Gone is what some consider to be the greatest tennis player in history, Roger Federer, who is on the third step of the tournament podium with his 20 Grand Slams.
For Nadal, his main options to increase his Grand Slam showing go through Roland Garros, but to do so he needs to physically recover from his iliac psoas injury, something that is unfortunately normal for the Spaniard, who has had to deal with this situation many times before. had to make. a career hampered by physical discomfort.
While Djokovic, physically better and with the moral injection of winning his tenth Australian Open, has great options at Wimbledon and at the US Open where he will be the top seed, without leaving him out of the equation on a Roland Garros that has won twice. The Serbian, a year younger than Nadal and less physically strong, has everything in store to end his career as a tennis player with the most Grand Slams in his showcases and therefore be considered the best of all time.
His 22nd Grand Slam comes for Djokovic after his most difficult year as a tennis player, especially off the courts. The Serb did not play at the 2022 Australian Open when he was expelled from the country for not being vaccinated against Covid-19. He was initially granted a medical exemption, but on arrival in Melbourne was detained and later deported on health grounds. Djokovic also came to that tournament as the top favorite for the title. The vagaries of fate, which Australian Open eventually won Rafa Nadal. For the same reason, he also did not participate in the US Open won by Carlos Alcaraz.
With the battle for the Grand Slams and world number one on the line, Djokovic jumped from bottom to top in the tournament to the Rod Laver Arena without the thick bandage on his left thigh that accompanied him during the championship, in a any statement of intent that those hamstring discomforts wouldn’t be an excuse not to go to the finals with everything. It wasn’t long before the Serb broke Tsitsipas’ serve. In the fourth game of the first set, he was able to take the serve from him and keep that lead to take the first set 6-3.
The second set was different. The Greek raised the level and everything was decided in the tie-break, where Djokovic, who had some doubts and even saved two set points for the Greek, was more successful to take the second set and put the final on track in his favour. Tsitsipas, who had his options, failed again in the mental aspect when he was able to hold the match.
The third set followed the path of the second, with both players very solid with their serves and few unforced errors. Once again it was decided in another tie-break in which Djokovic once again outpaced Tsitsipas psychologically to finish the final in less than three hours. It is the second Grand Slam final that the Greek has lost to the Serbian and the balance is 11-2 in favor of the Belgrade tennis player.
28 consecutive wins for Djokovic in Australia and undefeated in the first Grand Slam of the year since 2018. A fact that sums up the oceanic hegemony of the Serb, who has it in his hand to become the most successful tennis player in history.
Source: La Verdad
I am Shawn Partain, a journalist and content creator working for the Today Times Live. I specialize in sports journalism, writing articles that cover major sporting events and news stories. With a passion for storytelling and an eye for detail, I strive to be accurate and insightful in my work.
