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Novak Djokovic is back to being the king of the Australian Open a year after he was sensationally deported from the country due to his anti-vaccination stance while he’s also reclaimed his No.1 world ranking in an emotional night.
The 35-year-old Serbian superstar was way too strong for Greek rival Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday’s final, powering his way to a 6-3 7-6, 7-6 victory.
Tears flowed from Djokovic after his win as he sat courtside and then climbed into the crowd to embrace his support crew.
“I’d say this is probably the biggest victory in my life, given the circumstances,” he said in the post-match presentation.
Novak Djokovic unleashes a forehand during his final win. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
“A lot of people doubted and still doubt whether I was injured. I’m going to pull some stuff to prove but I don’t feel like I need to prove anything to anyone.
“It did affect me, especially in the first week. From the fourth round onwards, I felt like it was behind me.
“It actually helped my tennis a lot because I felt like I could run free. I was not thinking about it.”
The great Rod Laver was fittingly front and centre with the best view in the house named in his honour for the Serb’s latest history-making act.
His win extends his tally to 10 Australian Open titles, a record only bettered by Rafael Nadal’s 14 at the French Open.
Djokovic has joined Nadal on 22 grand slam titles and will go head to head with the Spanish veteran on the Roland Garros clay in May in an attempt to claim first place on the all-time honour role.
Hampered by an ongoing hamstring injury throughout the tournament, Djokovic moved freely in the final against his much younger opponent.
He now holds an 11-2 record over Tsitsipas with three of those wins in their only grand slam clashes, including the 2021 French Open final when the Serbian veteran came back from two sets down.
His Australian Open win-loss record is now a barely believable 89-8 as he racked up another trophy 15 years after he first became the champion at Melbourne Park.
Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his tenth Australian Open title. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
“If I have to choose one court conditions, balls, it would be night session Rod Laver with these balls,” Djokovic said.
“For me, (they are) by far the best conditions that I’ve ever played in. And I always want to play night session because I had such a great record. I just feel so comfortable.
“The court played really well for me. I can play the best tennis that I can, that I’m capable of. So that was the case, I think, from the fourth round onwards.
“I just found my groove. I just found the momentum and never looked back.”
Tsitsipas is still searching for his first grand slam title with the 24-year-old world No.4, coached by Mark Philippoussis, left crestfallen by his straight-sets blitz this time around.
After seizing the opening set with the lone break in the fourth game, and looking utterly untroubled on his own serve, Djokovic was briefly rattled late in the second stanza.
Storming the net with success, after being thoroughly bossed from the baseline, Tsitsipas fashioned a set point in the 10th game only for Djokovic to save it with a forehand winner.
Opportunity lost, Tsitsipas fell two sets behind after Djokovic sealed the tiebreaker and assumed total command when the Greek flayed a forehand wide.
And when Tsitsipas relinquished an early break in the third set, then surrendered another tiebreaker, it was game, set and match Djokovic after two hours and 55 minutes.
Stefanos Tsitsipas reacts during the Australian Open final. (Photo by Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Djokovic’s father seemingly stayed away from the Australian Open final despite tournament director Craig Tiley giving him the green light to attend.
Srdjan Djokovic watched his son’s semi-final win over Tommy Paul off site to avoid becoming a disruption following the emergence of a video of him with Vladimir Putin fans last Wednesday night.
Whether he would be back courtside as Djokovic bids to claim a 10th Open crown with victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas was a huge talking point in the lead-up to Sunday’s night’s title match.
Hours beforehand, Tiley revealed Djokovic’s father was free to attend Rod Laver Arena.
But the Serb did not take his usual place in the player’s box, his absence even more conspicuous by the vacant seat next to Djokovic’s mother Dijana.
Tiley accepted Srdjan Djokovic had inadvertently been swept up in the flags drama, insisting it was up to him to decide whether he would attend the final.
“It’s his decision. We’re going to let it be his decision and ultimately he’s got to make the call,” Tiley told AAP on Sunday.
“He didn’t breach any event policy. That’s really important because what’s been written about what he (allegedly) said hasn’t been correct and I think people are back-tracking from that.
“That’s unfortunate that massive assumptions were made.”
Russian flags, the Russian Eagle banner, Belarusian flags, and items of clothing with the Z symbol are prohibited at Melbourne Park amid Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Tiley said he believed that Djokovic’s father didn’t realise he was posing with people carrying Russian flags.
“I know him personally and his family was devastated by what happened. It was not intentional and I agree with him and it was not designed to cause harm to anyone,” Tiley said.
“It was an unfortunate situation and the Serbian fans have been great. Every day they’ve been very active and noisy and boisterous and that adds to the whole colour of the event.
“Then you’ve got two or three or, in this case, four individuals that ruined it and they got evicted and are not welcome back.
“Ideally he didn’t get caught up in that but, in that moment, you don’t know and that’s unfortunate that that happened because we’re a platform, we’re a global platform, and any little thing like that starts to take on a life of its own, which it didn’t need to.”
Djokovic felt his father was “misused” by pro-Russia fanatics and admitted the escalating saga had taken its toll.
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