NWith the racket in his left hand, Novak Djokovic walked in direction of his staff 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 achieve his family members. Half of the nationwide staff, 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 arduous you may hear her crying so arduous. It took him a couple of minute to settle down.
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 report holder Rafael Nadal.
At the identical time, they skilled one of many largest 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 permit myself to be distracted by issues off the courtroom. Dealing with accidents and issues exterior of tennis can simply derail my focus and my sport.”
The scandal surrounding Djokovic’s father
Novak Djokovic has needed to cope with the uncertainty of how he will probably be acquired a 12 months after Australian tennis followers initially refused entry as a result of his lack of vaccination in opposition to the corona virus. After questioning the severity of his hip harm, he was vindicated by the media, saying he “did not even” practice on non-game days.
Then got here the scandal Djokovic’s father brought about when he appeared in a video with Russian activists after his son’s quarter-final success. “It took plenty of psychological power to be in the second and keep targeted,” Djokovic mentioned.
Tsitsipas felt on Sunday how nicely he did it regardless of every little thing. 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 make the most of a slight weak point and a double fault by the Serbs. After an excellent 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 mentioned.
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 a giant query that the 2 giants of this sport are nonetheless capable of surpass not solely their opponents who’re ten years youthful, but in addition 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 largest motivation,” mentioned Djokovic, however he does not need to examine himself to others. In 2023, well being rules in the U.S. nonetheless stop Djokovic from the total dominance attainable.
In the United States, individuals who haven’t been vaccinated in opposition to 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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