Novak Djokovic equals Rafael Nadal for Grand Slam titles with 10th Australian Open triumph

The
fourth-seeded
Serbian
Djokovic
saw
off
the
third-seeded
Greek
Tsitsipas
in
straight
sets
6-3,
7-6(4),
7-6(5)
in
the
Australian
Open
2023
men’s
singles
final
match
that
lasted
for
two
hours
and
56
minutes
at
the
Rod
Laver
Arena
in
Melbourne.

Djokovic,
who
was
blocked
from
defending
his
crown
last
year
after
being
deported
from
the
country
over
his
COVID-19
vaccination
status,
returned
to
Melbourne
in
style.
He
dropped
just
one
set
across
his
seven
matches
and
has
now
won
28
matches
in
a
row
in
his
favourite
tournament.

By
winning
the
Australian
Open
for
the
tenth
time,
Djokovic
claimed
his
22nd
Grand
Slam
title
and
also
became
the
third
player
to
win
a
single
Major
10
times
or
more.
Nadal
(French
Open
–
14
times)
and
Margaret
Court
(Australian
Open
–
11
times)
had
achieved
the
feat
earlier.

Novak
Djokovic
Grand
Slams
Titles

The
35-year-old
Serb,
who
extended
his
winning
streak
in
Australia,
across
competitions,
to
41
matches,
took
the
first
set
with
ease,
but
was
made
to
fight
for
the
second
set
by
the
24-year-old
Greek,
who
forced
a
tie-breaker.

Tsitsipas
broke
Djokovic
early
in
the
third
set,
but
the
Serbian
responded
immediately
to
level
the
set.
The
set,
however,
went
the
distance
like
the
second
set
and
needed
a
tiebreaker
to
decide
the
winner
and
the
eventual
champion.

Tsitsipas
was
aiming
to
become
the
27th
male
singles
champion
in
the
opening
major
of
the
year,
but
he
was
under
relentless
pressure
right
from
the
off
and
a
double
fault
in
the
fourth
game
handed
his
opponent
the
first
break
of
serve.

Djokovic,
backed
by
a
crowd
that
occasionally
became
too
vociferous
amid
warnings
from
the
umpire,
served
out
the
opening
set
with
relative
ease
and
continued
to
trouble
Tsitsipas
with
some
strong
serving
in
the
second
set.

Most
Grand
Slam
Wins
Men:
Nadal,
Federer,
Djokovic
–
List
of
Most
Grand
Slam
titles
in
Amateur
and
Open
Era

World
number
four
Tsitsipas
slowly
grew
in
confidence
and,
after
a
string
of
unforced
errors
from
Djokovic
–
who
exchanged
some
strong
words
with
coach
Goran
Ivanisevic
–
he
forced
set
point.

But
an
excellent
forehand
winner
from
Djokovic
prevented
Tsitsipas
from
levelling
up
the
match,
and
the
Serbian
went
on
to
edge
the
tie-break
in
what
was
a
big
moment
in
the
contest.

He
had
the
occasional
blip,
with
Tsitsipas
earning
his
first
break
of
serve
in
the
opening
game
of
the
third
set,
but
Djokovic
responded
instantly
with
another
backhand
winner
to
level
up.

There
was
little
to
separate
the
two
in
the
next
10
games
as
another
set
went
the
distance,
and
once
again
it
was
Djokovic
who
held
his
nerve
in
an
entertaining
tie-break
to
wrap
up
the
victory.

The
victory
also
means,
the
22-time
Grand
Slam
champion
Djokovic
will
claim
the
number
one
spot
in
the
ATP
rankings
by
toppling
Carlos
Alcaraz,
who
pulled
out
of
the
2023
Australian
Open
due
to
injury.

(With
OPTA
inputs)