Ruthless… Novak Djokovic can proudly show his head, his heart, look at the sky and then leave to cry hot tears in the midst of his family in the stands.
The "Djoker" did not miss his appointment with history.
The Serb, unplayable on Australian soil for five years and a running streak of 41 wins, beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in three short sets (6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in 2:56) to offer yourself a triple gift: ten titles in Melbourne, the place of world No. 1 and above all a 22nd Grand Slam synonymous with a return to match Rafael Nadal.
Deprived of the Australian Open last year because of his vaccination status and at the heart of an incredible affair, the tennis boss took a resounding revenge and scored a few more points in the race for the "GOAT", the best player of all time.
This shot 📸
This guy 👏@DjokerNole • #AusOpen • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/mIImIbk1fG
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 29, 2023
Djokovic attacks the match with his feet to the metal, almost finishing the first set before having started it.
A break at 2-1 against a Tsitsipas far too inside is enough for him to make the difference.
Of his bandage on his left thigh, which fueled the medical chronicle for two weeks, only a small strap remains and a distant memory.
Solid, never worried about face-offs (five points lost over the whole round), the Melbourne boss unrolls and easily concludes 6-3 in 36 minutes.
Already almost the royal road to the title and a twelfth consecutive success since the start of the season.
But at the start of the second set, Tsitsipas rebels and the fight can really begin.
The Greek is more offensive, more precise and manages to take the lead in the exchange.
Put under pressure, dominated without being left behind on the scoreboard, the Belgradois gets angry and vents his anger on his clan, where his father Srdjan, as in the semi-finals, shines by his absence after the controversy triggered by his meeting with Russian pro supporters in the aisles of the tournament.
The Athenian, in search of a first Major and a place of n°1 too, however lacks aggressiveness or audacity in key moments.
At 5-4, he gets a set point on a big mistake from his opponent on the backhand.
But failing to dare, he lets Djokovic dictate the game and return to a relentless acceleration of forehand.
The tie-break that follows is completely baroque and reflects the mental state of the two protagonists and the tension on the Rod Laver Arena.
A festival of unforced errors.
“How on earth did he get that back?!”
🤯
Stunning defense from Novak Djokovic 👏 pic.twitter.com/OioKfYEGtz
— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 29, 2023
Djokovic quietly broke away 4-1 before stalling (including a nice double fault) and seeing Tsitsipas come back to 4-4… then chain the offerings to give the former and future world No. 1 an almost insurmountable advantage.
In his entire career, the ten-time winner has indeed lost only once in a Grand Slam having led two sets to nothing (against Melzer in 2010 at Roland-Garros)... And in the 2023 tournament, only the French Enzo Couacaud in the 2nd round will have achieved the feat of taking a set from Belgradois!
Tsitsipas ignores the statistics and yet manages his first break of the match at the start of the third set.
A short-lived hope because Djokovic immediately returns to the score (1-1).
In a final which will not remain unforgettable by its quality but just by its historical significance, the two men then unfold on their face-off until a new tie-break where Tsitsipas completely cracks (0-5) and recovers too late .
After a year 2022 where he played intermittently for victory because of his vaccination status, "Nole" is indeed back at the top...