Djokovic captures his 10th Aussie title
He sweeps past Tsitsipas to tie Nadal for all-time lead with 22 Grand Slam crowns
MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic came to Australia with a mission or, really, a series of them.
To win the championship he had won nine times once more. To win a 22nd Grand Slam men’s singles title and draw even with his rival Rafael Nadal at the top of that list. To remove any doubt anyone might have about whether he remains the world’s dominant player — the most commanding player of the last decade and now this one, too. To show the world that the only way to keep him from winning nearly any tennis tournament is to not let him play.
Check. Check. Check. And check. A year after Australia deported him over his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID -19, Djokovic reclaimed the Grand Slam title he has won more than any other, capturing a record 10th championship at the Australian Open by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) on Sunday.
After one last forehand off Tsitsipas’ racket floated long to end a match that felt lopsided despite the two tiebreakers, Djokovic turned and stared at his family and coaches sitting in his box. He pointed to his head, his heart and then just below his waistband, letting the world in on his team’s code language and telling it that winning Sunday took everything he had.
“It takes a big heart, mental strength and the other thing as well,” he said with a laugh once the night had turned into early morning.
He wore a jacket emblazoned with a bright No. 22 just under the right side of his collarbone and called this triumph “the biggest victory of my life.”
In addition to gaining pole position to surge past the injured Nadal on the career Grand Slam list — and in the greatest-of-all-time debate — Djokovic also reclaimed the top spot in the world rankings, making him, at 35, the second-oldest player to reach that rarefied realm, behind only Roger Federer, who was nearly 37 during his last stint on top of the tennis world. Djokovic turns 36 on May 22. It’s probably a bad idea to bet against his taking that record from Federer, as he has so many others.
The feat is even more noteworthy given how much tennis Djokovic has had to miss in the last year. He cannot play in the United States because of his refusal to get a COVID-19 shot. Unless there is a change in that policy, he will again miss a major tournament in Indian Wells, California, in March, and the hard-courts swing this summer, which includes the U.S. Open.
He is either stubborn or a man of principle — and more likely both.
Djokovic’s score sheets in this tournament might suggest that these last two weeks were little more than a vacation, with some tennis thrown in. He dropped only a single set in seven matches. His fourth-round, quarterfinal and semifinal tests were nearly complete wipeouts of opponents.
“He is from outer space,” his coach Goran Ivanisevic said of Djokovic.