Djokovic – Nadal – K”ahler: What is the greatest tennis moment? A tribute to Srdjan and the Australian Open
Djokovic won his first title in Australia since last year’s deportation, defeating American Sebastian Korda in an epic three-setter final 6-7(8) 7-6(3) 6-4 at the Adelaide International on Sunday.
After thanking his team for managing him, the Serb said that he would tolerate them in the good and bad times. “I’m sure they didn’t have such a blast with me going back and forth with them, but I appreciate them being here.”
He battled back from a set and a break down to win the second set and the title in the third.
“The support that I’ve been getting in the past 10 days is something that I don’t think I’ve experienced too many times in my life, so thank you so much [to] everyone for coming out every single match.”
Last year, Djokovic was unable to defend his title after being deported from the country over his Covid-19 vaccination status. He had to deal with the consequences of Srdjan’s involvement at the Australian Open, despite the fact that he was filmed with a group of Russian supporters.
Both Djokovic and Rafael Nadal now share the men’s record for major wins, while Djokovic becomes only the second man to win more than 10 titles at a single slam. One of the other people is Nadal, who has won the French Open 14 times.
The two men are both all-time greats, not only their sport but any sport. Which one is the greatest? Tennis is the benefactor of that debate and battle.
Djokovic will occupy the top spot in the world rankings for the 362nd straight week after his Australian Open victory, a mark equaled by no other man.
The 20-year-old was defeated by the Serb in the French Open final, but he’s not the first player to be outclassed by the Serb in a grand slam final.
The serve was under pressure from the start. He fell 15-40 in the second game, but came back to tie the first set at 1, and so too would the match, despite the fact that he had broken in the fourth game.
The title was secured when Tsitsipas hit a return. The Serb looked towards his team and family members – his father Srdjan did not appear to be present – and pointed to his head and heart. And then came the tears.
The Serb was only able to get one break point from the 42 unforced errors that Tsitsipas made, and that’s all he had to show for it.