The Serbian continued his wonderful control in Melbourne, after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final 3:6, 6:7 (4), 6:7, won the 22nd Grand Slam title in his career and equaled Nadal for the all-time record. Nola, who went 0:10 in the finals in Australia, also returned to first place in the world and was bitter at the end in tears
Novak Djokovic today (Sunday) took another step on the way to the all-time record, when he won the Australian Championship after a 3:6 victory , 6:7 (4), 6:7 (5) over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final in Melbourne and won the 22nd Grand Slam title in his career. Djokovic equaled Rafael Nadal, who also has 22 Grand Slam tournament wins, but while the Spaniard proved at the start of the year that he is suffering from an injury and close to the twilight of his career,Djokovic once again demonstrated to the tennis world that he is still in his prime, still hungry, still invincible. At the end of the match, an emotional Djokovic went up to the stands to celebrate and hug his family members and the professional team, and out of excitement burst into tears and lay down on the floor, in an unusual scene, which illustrated how important the title was to him.
And so a year later Expelled from Australia before the start of the championship because of his opposition to the corona vaccines, Djokovic won today for the 10th time in the tournament in Melbourne (the tournament record, of course), with a perfect record of 0:10 in the finals at Broad Labour Arena. The 35-year-old Serbian tennis player once again displayed a versatile ability, with typical aggressiveness and an uncompromising defensive game that will discourageyour opponent At the end of the match, symbolically, he officially returned to first place in the world.
In recent years, world tennis has enjoyed the three-way battle between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who fought for the record of winning Grand Slams, and in fact for The title of the greatest tennis player of all time. Federer has already retired with 20 Grand Slams, and now the fiery Djokovic knows: he is on his way to the top of all time. If this hungry athlete lacked motivation, now he knows that the great record is closer than ever, and no one will be surprised if he achieves it already in the next Grand Slam. Over the past two weeks, Nola has been dealing with a muscle strain, taunts from fans and a media storm becauseHis father who expressed support for Vladimir Putin and Russia, but as always, knew how to leave everything off the court and raced towards another win in his favorite tournament. He now has 28 consecutive wins in Australia, a historic and impressive streak. On the other side stands Tsitsipas, who, as I recall, led 0:2 in sets in the Roland Garros 2021 final and then surrendered to a tremendous comeback by Djokovic, and today he surrendered as well and will continue to look for the first Grand Slam in his career. He also understands: he was just an extra in the performance of a legendary athlete.
First set – 3:6 to Djokovic After a comfortable service game for Djokovic, Tsitsipas had to save two break points already in his first service game , but knew how to get out of the uncomfortable and equal situationto 1:1. In the fourth game, the first break came: Nola did not let up and continued with the pressure on his opponent, who, trailing 40:30, committed a double fault and the Serbian went up to a quick and impressive 1:3. Tsitsipas continued to struggle for his service games and shrunk to 4:2, but Djokovic continued to dictate the pace and went up to 2:5 safely, and after 36 minutes he went up to 0:1 in sets with 3:6. Set numbers Aces: Djokovic 2, Tsitsipas 6 Double faults: Djokovic 0, Tsitsipas 1 Winners: Djokovic 9, Tsitsipas 9 Uncommitted errors: Djokovic 7, Tsitsipas 11 Break opportunities: Djokovic 1 m -3, Tsitsipas 0 from 0 Total points: Djokovic 30, Tsitsipas 20
Second set – 6:7 for Djokovic (4:7) at the beginning of the setTsitsipas looked more offensive, trying to change momentum, and with two dominant service games he went up to 1:2. The Greek began to be more accurate with high percentages of success in the first serve, but Djokovic did not panic and equalized at 3:3. In the seventh game, Tsitsipas again looked aggressive and accurate, and waved his hands at the enthusiastic crowd after he went up 3:4. Tsitsipas tried to keep pressing, but made two mistakes on the way to the net, and Nola equalized at 4:4. With a 4:5 advantage to the Greek, he achieved a break point, which was a campaign point, but after a 15-hit rally, the Serbian hit an excellent winner. Later, with two uncommitted errors by Tsitsipas, Djokovic equalized to 5:5 at the end of a game that lasted 8 minutes. In the breakThe tie Tsitsipas made 3 uncommitted errors in the first 5 points, allowing Djokovic to go up to 1:4 too easily, but then the Serbian made two mistakes on his serve (including a double fault) and Tsitsipas equalized at 4:4. At this stage, the Greek again did not stand up to the pressure, and made two consecutive errors, and after one hour and 46 minutes, Djokovic went up to 0:2 in the sets after 4:7 in the tie-break. The numbers of the set are aces: Djokovic 3, Tsitsipas 4 errors Doubles: Djokovic 2, Tsitsipas 1 Winners: Djokovic 10, Tsitsipas 13 Uncommitted errors: Djokovic 713 Tsitsipas 17 Break opportunities: Djokovic 0 of 0, Tsitsipas 0 of 1 Total points: Djokovic 41, Tsitsipas 40
Third set – 6:7To Djokovic (5:7) Djokovic went to the locker room for a break after going 0:2 in the sets, but the one who came back sharper is Tsitsipas, who managed to get the first break in the match and take a 0:1 lead, with the net also helping him a little with a lucky strike. The Greek, unfortunately, was unable to maintain the momentum, and Djokovic once again displayed an impressive defensive game, reaching every ball to frustrate his opponent, and leveled at 1:1 with a quick counter break. Both tennis players continued to hold their serve, with the Greek succeeding again And again to compare and withstand the pressure. In the tenth game, Djokovic was in a situation of 30:30, two points away from the championship, but the Greek managed to equalize at 5:5. Djokovic again gave a service gameDominant, and went up 5:6 with a game at zero, but the Greek again came back and forced another tiebreaker. As expected, Djokovic opened the tiebreaker strongly, achieved two quick mini breaks, won five consecutive points and went up to 0: 5. However, the Greek did not give up, and with 3 consecutive points shrunk to 5:3, including a long rally, but the Serbian fought back and rose to 3:6 with three match points. Tsitsipas with two strong serves managed to stay in the game and saved two match points, but Nola again delivered a deadly forehand on the line, which Tsitsipas sent out, and after 2 hours and 56 minutes – the title again goes to the champion. Set numbers aces: Djokovic 2, Tsitsipas 5 double faults: Djokovic 1,Tsitsipas 1 Winners: Djokovic 17, Tsitsipas 18 Uncommitted errors: Djokovic 4, Tsitsipas 14 Break opportunities: Djokovic 1 of 2, Tsitsipas 1 of 2 Total points: Djokovic 41, Tsitsipas 34< /p>
* Djokovic completed his 28th consecutive victory at the Australian Championships, a tournament record that he broke already in the semifinals (the previous record was 26, by Andre Agassi between 2000 and 2004). * Djokovic’s unimaginable record in the finals in Australia: 0:10! * Djokovic, who spent 373 weeks in first place in his career, returned to the top of the world for the first time since last June. * Djokovic still hasn’t lost this year, and is 0:12 in 2023. Overall, since the start of the grass season last year, Djokovic has a record of 2:38in his last 40 games. * Djokovic won tournament number 93 in his career and moved up to fourth place all-time, behind Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (103) and Ivan Lendel (94), above Rafael Nadal (92).