Djokovic wins Australian Open, catches up with Nadal a year after deportation
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A year after being deported from Australia for lack of a vaccine against Covid-19, Serbian Novak Djokovic was crowned again on the main stage of his multi-champion career.
Not without new controversy – this time related to the war between Russia and Ukraine – Djokovic won the Australian Open for the tenth time in ten finals. In the decision disputed this Sunday (29), in Melbourne, he beat the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas by 3 sets to 0, partials of 6/3, 7/6(4) and 7/6(5).
In addition to further isolating himself as the biggest champion of the tournament among men, Djokovic equals the Spaniard Rafael Nadal as the record holder of titles in Grand Slams. He now has 22 trophies at the highest level in the sport.
Along with the cup and personal marks, the Serbian tennis player guarantees his return to the top of the men’s world ranking, at the age of 35, and a prize of approximately R$ 10.8 million.
Djokovic was fifth in the standings, one below Tsitsipas. But his favoritism was wide, given his campaign in the current edition of the Australian Slam and his history in the tournament, and he was confirmed in the decision.
After a first set in which the Serb controlled the pace of the game, it closed at 6 to 3 with ease and seemed to be left on the court, the second set went to a tie break and balanced the decision. Tsitsipas, however, made more mistakes, and Djokovic consolidated the lead of 2 sets to 0.
The third set started with the potential to be the turning point of the match. The Greek tennis player broke the Serb’s service for the first time, but handed over his serve soon after for the rival to tie the partial, to be superior again and to conclude his 22nd Grand Slam title.
During the campaign in Melbourne, Djokovic enjoyed the support of the majority of the Australian fans, as he had in the road to the ATP 250 title in Adelaide, in early January.
Last year, Djokovic was stopped at the airport and detained by immigration control pending a court ruling on entry into the country. He had his visa canceled and was deported by the Australian government ten days after landing.
Without the controversy of vaccination against Covid-19, after the quarterfinals in this edition, Djokovic’s father was filmed alongside pro-Russian demonstrators in Melbourne. One of them held a flag with a picture of the country’s president, Vladimir Putin, and was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the letter Z, a symbol used by Russian ultranationalists.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasil Miroshnichenko, asked that the tennis player’s father be banned from the event – the Russian and Belarusian flags are banned from the tournament.
Djokovic came to his father’s defense and claimed there was a misunderstanding. “We do not support any kind of violence. There were a lot of Serbian flags and he thought he was taking pictures with Serbian fans,” said the tennis player.
“Obviously for me it’s not pleasant having to deal with that after everything that happened last year. I don’t need it right now. I hope people put it aside and focus on tennis.”
The new controversy and a discomfort in the left thigh did not prevent Djokovic from arriving as favorite for the decision against Tsitsipas. The two finalists had faced each other on 12 previous occasions, with ten wins for the Serb.
In addition to the ten achievements on Australian soil, Djokovic also triumphed seven times on grass at Wimbledon, three on the courts of the US Open and twice on clay at Roland Garros.
DJOKOVIC TITLES IN GRAN SLAMS
– Australian Open (2008, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023)
– Wimbledon (2011, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022)
– US Open (2011, 2015 and 2018)
– Roland Garros (2016 and 2021)
BIGGEST GRAND SLAMS WINNERS
Rafael Nadal* (Spain) and Novak Djokovic* (Serbia) – 22
Roger Federer (Switzerland) – 20
Pete Sampras (United States) – 14
Roy Emerson (Australia) – 12
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