Novak Djokovic claims 10th Australian Open title, 22nd Slam

Novak Djokovic climbed into the Rod Laver Arena stands to cele‐ brate his 10th Australian Open championship and record‐tying 22nd Grand Slam title Sunday and, after jumping and pumping his fists with his team, he col‐ lapsed onto his back, crying.

When he returned to the playing surface, Djokovic sat on his side‐ line bench, buried his face in a white towel and sobbed some more. This trip to Australia was far more successful than that of a year ago — when he was de‐ ported because he was not vacci‐ nated against COVID‐19 — although difficult in its own ways: a bad hamstring; some off‐court tumult involving his father. Yet Djokovic accomplished all he could have possibly wanted in his return: He resumed his winning ways at Melbourne Park and made it back to the top of tennis, declaring: "This probably is the, I would say, biggest victory of my life."

Only briefly challenged in the final, Djokovic was simply better at the most crucial moments and beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6‐3, 7‐6 (4), 7‐6 (5). As a bonus, Djokovic will vault from No. 5 to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, a spot he already has held for more weeks than any other man.

The 35‐year‐old from Serbia stretched his unbeaten streak in Melbourne to 28 matches, the longest run there in the Open era, which dates to 1968. He adds tro‐ phy No. 10 to the seven from Wimbledon, three from the U.S. Open — where he also was absent last year because of no coron‐ avirus shots — and two from the French Open, to match rival Rafael Nadal for the most by a man.

Only two women — Margaret Court, with 24, and Serena Williams, with 23 — are ahead of him. This was also the 93rd ATP tour‐level title for Djokovic, breaking a tie with Nadal for the fourth‐most.

Djokovic was participating in his 33rd major final, Tsitsipas in his second — and the 24‐year‐old from Greece also lost the other, at the 2021 French Open, to Djokovic.

On a cool evening under a cloud‐ filled sky, and with a soundtrack of chants from supporters of both men prompting repeated pleas for quiet from the chair umpire, Djokovic was superior through‐ out, especially so in the two tiebreakers.

He took a 4‐1 lead in the first, then reeled off the last three points. He led 5‐0 in the closing tiebreaker and, when it finished, he pointed to his temple before screaming, a prelude to all of the tears.

"Very emotional for us. Very emotional for him," said Djokovic's coach, Goran Ivanise‐ vic. "It's a great achievement. It was a really tough three weeks for him. He managed to overcome everything."

Djokovic acknowledged all of the issues created strain for him.

Keep in mind: It's not as though Tsitsipas played all that poorly, other than a rash of early miscues that seemed to be more a product of tension than anything. It's that Djokovic was too unyielding. Too accurate with his strokes, making merely 22 unforced errors, 20 fewer than his foe. Too speedy and flexible on the run (other than when, moving to his left, Djokovic took a tumble).

Perhaps. Yet Djokovic pushes and pushes and pushes some more, until it's the opponent who is something less than perfect on one swing, either missing or pro‐ viding an opening to pounce.

That's what happened when Tsitsipas held his first break point — which was also a set point — while ahead 5‐4 in the second and Djokovic serving at 30‐40. Might this be a fulcrum? Might Djokovic relent? Might Tsitsipas surge?

Uh, no.

A 15‐stroke point concluded with Djokovic smacking a cross‐ court forehand winner that felt like a statement. Two misses by Tsitsipas followed: A backhand long, a forehand wide. Those felt like capitulation. Even when Tsit‐ sipas actually did break in the third, Djokovic broke right back.

There has been more than fore‐ hands and backhands on Djokovic's mind over the past two weeks.

There was the not‐so‐small mat‐ ter of last year's legal saga — he has alternately acknowledged the whole thing served as a form of motivation but also said the other day, "I'm over it" — and curiosity about the sort of reception he would get when allowed to enter Australia because pandemic re‐ strictions were eased.

He heard a ton of loud support, but also dealt with some persist‐ ent heckling while competing, in‐ cluding applause after faults Sunday.

There was the sore left ham‐ string that has been heavily band‐ aged for every match — until the final, that is, when only a single piece of beige athletic tape was visible.

And then there was the matter of his father, Srdjan, being filmed with a group waving Russian flags — one with an image of Vladimir Putin — after Djokovic's quarter‐ final. The tournament banned spectators from carrying flags of Russia or Belarus, saying they would cause disruption because of the ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Djokovic and his father said Srdjan thought he was with Serbian fans.

Still, Srdjan Djokovic did not at‐ tend his son's semifinal or the final.