Novak Djokovic wins the Australian Open for the tenth time

“This is probably the biggest win of my life, considering the circumstances,” said Novak Djokovic, holding the “Norman Brookes Challenge Cup” in his arms for the tenth time after winning the final of the Australian Open in Melbourne. The 6: 3, 7: 6 (7: 4), 7: 6 (7: 5) success against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas is definitely one for the history books: With his 22nd Grand Slam triumph, the 35th -year-old is now equal to the Spanish record holder Rafael Nadal.

“I felt a huge burden on my shoulders during the tournament,” said the Serb at the awards ceremony. Because although he only dropped one set in the entire tournament, it was by no means an easy way to win the tournament Down Under again. Exactly one year earlier he had missed his “favorite tournament” due to a visa that was declared invalid. That’s why he was closely watched. He was also accused of acting during the tournament for a hamstring injury sustained during the pre-season tournament in Adelaide. Shortly before the semi-finals of the first Grand Slam of the year, his father was heavily criticized for an incident with a pro-Russian spectator group and also stayed away from the final. But at the end of his dreams, all the pressure from Djokovic fell off.

An emotional roller coaster ride

After the Serb converted his third match point after 2:56 hours, he let his emotions run free. After warm hugs from the coaches and family, Djokovic slumped in his box and was gripped by a violent fit of crying. The tennis star, who is otherwise often so experienced and mellow, has rarely been so vulnerable. All the burden after a year of adversity seemed to fall off the new world number one. After he climbed shakily off the balustrade of the coaches’ box with the help of security, he continued to cry into his towel for minutes. “When I hugged my mother and brother, I felt a huge relief,” said the Serb. “I had to release any emotions that had been pent up.”

Opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas, who had to admit defeat to Novak Djokovic for the second time in a Grand Slam final, showed himself to be a fair loser and expressed a clear opinion on the debate about the best tennis player of all time: “Novak is the greatest who has ever tennis racket in his hand,” said the Greek. With the tenth win in the tenth final match of the hard court tournament in Melbourne, Djokovic also pushed himself back to the top of the world rankings. From Monday he starts his 374th week as the nominally best tennis player in the world and replaces the absent Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz as number one in the world rankings.

js/fl (dpa)