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 that ailment dragged her the entire first week.
Recovered from the pain and with sublime tennis in the round of 16 and quarterfinals, he reached the final where he beat the Greek 6-3, 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5).
The Greek (24), eleven years younger than the Serbian, was far from getting revenge in the second definition of big tournaments between the two after the lively one at Roland Garros 2021.
Djokovic dominated him from the beginning, determined to take advantage of all his options as he demonstrated before the first chance of a break that he led in the first set of the match.
In the second, Tsitsipas maintained his service and had a chance to break to equalize the game, but the Serb’s temperance prevented it and unleashed the Hellenic’s inner demons, who doubled his rival in unforced errors. With the 2-0 difference in sets, everything seemed to be on track for “Nole”, who immediately recovered the Greek’s break at the opening of the final segment to reach the tie break with three finishing chances.
After securing victory, Djokovic had a cold reaction: he looked towards the stands, put an index finger to his temple and placed a palm on his heart. He also kissed and touched the Australian soil that has him as absolute king with 10 crowns.
He immediately climbed the wall of a grandstand and reached the sector where the staff and his family were, before whom he collapsed with emotion. The bad memory of 2022 has surely passed through his head, the injury that questioned his participation this year and the last episode of his father, absent yesterday after his presence at a march in support of Russia because of the war with Ukraine.
The Serb continued to cry in his box before the award ceremony where he received a superb demonstration of his popularity in Australia.
The “tenth” allowed him to stretch his lead as the top champion of the Open Era ahead of Roy Emerson and Roger Federer, who have 6 trophies.
Excited, Nole left a message for the young tennis players: “Dream big, everything is possible and don’t let anyone take away your dreams.”
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.
