NWith the racket in his left hand, Novak Djokovic walked in direction of his crew and his household. He stopped a couple of meters away from the tribune and shouted his pleasure. Then he went as much as the roof to succeed in his family members. Half of the nationwide crew, led by coach Goran Ivanisevic, welcomed the Serbs with open arms. Djokovic turned once more to scream all the strain.
Only after he fell into the arms of his youthful brother Marco did his temper change. In his mom’s arms, Djokovic fell to his knees and fell on his again in the center of the stands. The Australian Open winner cried so onerous you would hear her crying so onerous. It took him a few minute to relax.
Around 15,000 spectators at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena witnessed sporting historical past after a 6-3, 7-6, 7-6 win over Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic’s tenth Australian Open title was his twenty second Grand Slam title, tied with file holder Rafael Nadal.
At the identical time, they skilled one of many greatest emotional shocks in tennis. The depth of the feelings jogged my memory of former basketball star Michael Jordan crying in the locker room after his fourth NBA title in 1996. It was Jordan’s first championship since his father’s assassination in 1993.
Fortunately, Djokovic’s scenario was not so dramatic, however two hours after his success, he defined how the victory had taken a toll on him. “Until the autumn, I did not enable myself to be distracted by issues off the court docket. Dealing with accidents and issues outdoors of tennis can simply derail my focus and my recreation.”
The scandal surrounding Djokovic’s father
Novak Djokovic has needed to take care of the uncertainty of how he might be obtained a yr after Australian tennis followers initially refused entry resulting from his lack of vaccination towards the corona virus. After questioning the severity of his hip damage, he was vindicated by the media, saying he “did not even” prepare on non-game days.
Then got here the scandal Djokovic’s father induced when he appeared in a video with Russian activists after his son’s quarter-final success. “It took lots of psychological vitality to be in the second and keep centered,” Djokovic stated.
Tsitsipas felt on Sunday how properly he did it regardless of the whole lot. Djokovic gave him a couple of probabilities after which he was too passive. At 5:4 and 40:30 in the second set, he missed his solely serve and responded aggressively to Djokovic’s second serve at simply 128 kilometers per hour.
In the tie-break, the Greeks couldn’t reap the benefits of a slight weak spot and a double fault by the Serbs. After a good third set, Djokovic went up 5-0 in one other tiebreak inside minutes. Tsitsipas has not solely excelled on the pitch: “He pushes you to your limits: I do not see that as a curse. We all beat our butts, it is a good lesson,” he stated.
Djokovic (35) and Nadal (36) have received 16 of the final 19 Grand Slams. No participant born after 1987 has but received the boys’s occasion in Melbourne, Paris and Wimbledon. It stays an enormous query that the 2 giants of this sport are nonetheless capable of surpass not solely their opponents who’re ten years youthful, but additionally bodily on the age of superior athletes.
Russia’s Daniil Medvedev stays the one participant of the subsequent technology to have received each Grand Slam finals. In 2021, Russia’s Djokovic received all 4 titles in one season in New York. “Big titles stay the most important motivation,” stated Djokovic, however he would not wish to evaluate himself to others. In 2023, well being rules in the U.S. nonetheless forestall Djokovic from the total dominance attainable.
In the United States, individuals who haven’t been vaccinated towards the corona virus are nonetheless prohibited from getting into the nation. “But I’m hoping for some excellent news in the subsequent few weeks,” Djokovic defined. First of all, he meant to take part in the Masters tournaments in Indian Wells and Miami in March.
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