Just 12 months later, he beat Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4) and 7-6 (5) and tied Rafael Nadal with 22 Grand Slams. In men it is a record, and they are two away from the maximum champion of Majors, the Australian Margaret Court.
The finishing touch for this story that mutated between edges of drama and suspense, is that Djokovic returned to No. 1 in the world. At 35 years and 272 days, after almost a year of losing him, he stormed the position most desired by all tennis players. This results in the prolongation of his prodigious reign: from Monday they will add 374 weeks at the top of the ATP, an unprecedented number.
The 2023 season started very differently for the man from Belgrade. He accumulates 12 wins and no losses. He was champion at Adelaide I and now at the Australian Open. It is true that age begins to take its toll on him, his recoveries are not the same and the game sometimes seems conditioned (it is worth noting that he competed in Melbourne with discomfort in his left hamstring). But even with these burgeoning weaknesses, there aren’t many players who would oppose him.
Djokovic’s validity seems, at times, to be a magical power impossible to counter. In 2022 he missed several contests due to his anti-vaccine stance. He was absent from Australia, Indian Wells, Miami and the entire tour leading up to the US Open. That is, he missed two Grand Slams and four Masters 1000.
What he played was enough to keep him crouched down waiting for an opportunity to hunt another big title and keep the No. 1. Last year he was the most successful with five championships, although Wimbledon did not award him points since the LTA prohibited the participation of Russian and Belarusian tennis players due to the invasion of Ukraine and at the last moment the ATP and WTA ordered that the most prestigious tournament not would give numerical prizes. From London to Australia, he reached the final of every tournament he played.
During 2022 the same phrase was heard on numerous occasions: “There is a No. 1 in the ranking and a No. 1 in tennis. The latter is Djokovic.” the russian Daniel Medvedev and the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz They shared first place with the Serbian. But it did not last long.
It is difficult to know in this instance how long “Nole” will keep that place, or how many more titles it will celebrate. The greatest certainty is that is standing on the border of history once again. If the 2019 Wimbledon final that beat Roger Federer It was the game that defined the current times, Roland Garros could become a milestone for this sport. There, Nadal, in one of his last performances, and Djokovic himself will decide who will become immortal. At the close of their careers, they are still the top favorites for everything.
The -old- new number 1 in the world will not be able to easily erase the scandal he starred in Australia in the middle of a power struggle with the Victorian government. His authority figure in tennis and his anti-vaccine ideology led him to go from hero to villain, but his tennis returned him to the role of sports demigod, albeit emotionally vulnerable as he demonstrated by beating Tsitsipas and crying on the floor of the box that his work team.
“It is probably the most important victory of my career”, he pronounced already with the trophy in his hand, words that show the tension due to what he has lived through and the hegemony that he still maintains. Tsitsipas, exhausted and angry, chose forcefulness: “It is the largest that has ever held a tennis racket”.
Djokovic equaled Nadal with 22 Grand Slams and now he will go for Margaret Court and, why not, win all four in the same season, something that has not happened in the men’s circuit since the legendary Rod Laver achieved it in 1969. A conquest that, a priori, seems difficult is reaching the 109 titles obtained by Jimmy Connors: with his tenth Australian Open he reached 93, one more than “Rafa” and one less than Ivan Lendl.
The seniority records remain to be seen, but who can doubt that the Serb could make it to the age of 40? On May 22, he will turn 36, and although the distance seems great, the best version of Djokovic came after 30 (at this stage he won 10 Grand Slams), with better management of his physique, focused on big tournaments and with a legend that precedes it and causes fear in any rival.
“Nole” seems to be the one to topple all the Big 3 milestones. With Federer retired and Nadal haunted by injuries and an end on the not-too-distant horizon, the best player in the world has history ahead of him. It will be the responsibility of the rising youngsters, who still respect him too much and fear him, to stop him, even though the Serb always knows he is superior and favourite.
A year ago, Djokovic lost the possibility of sweeping the circuit for holding his convictions, debatable or not. Regarding sports, everything indicates that the bet went well beyond the dangerous message. From the top of tennis his power continues to rise, and his validity, perhaps mysterious as magical arts, seems to have no threats.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
