By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Serbian lawn tennis icon Novak Djokovic is back at the top of the sport after winning another Grand Slam title since defeating Nick Kyrgios during the 2022 Wimbledon tournament.
Djokovic capped off his majestic run in the recently concluded Australian Open with a championship after sweeping Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece- 6.3, 7.6, 7.6- in the grand finals last January 29, 2023.
Displaying his old dominant form when he nabbed three Grand Slams last 2021, Djokovic put Tsitsipas on notice after crushing him in the very first set.
A combination of pure power and well-timed shots led to Djokovic’s flawless performance in the first 25 minutes of action.
The Greek star didn’t back down from the challenge and began countering Djokovic’s variety of shots with his insane top-spin forehand stroke.
Tsitsipas decided to put emphasis on his defensive spin rather than attacking Djokovic in the baseline which caught the Serbian off guard several times due to the ball’s sudden spike on the surface.
However, Djokovic still found a way to break through Tsitsipas’ unpredictable baseline strokes and played with his serve-and-volley technique.
Djokovic closed the gap in the last 10 rallies and helped him recover his unforced errors to go up 2-0 in the championship game.
The same story kicked off the third set as Tsitsipas played less aggressively and waited for Djokovic to have an opening but the Serbian’s experience in unleashing his timings propelled him to another Grand Slam title.
Aside from winning another Australian Open trophy, Djokovic also made history after equalizing Rafael Nadal’s record for the most Grand Slam championship titles with 22.
“Not playing last year, coming back this year. I want to thank all the people who made me feel welcome, made me feel comfortable. Only the team and family knows what we’ve been through these last four to five weeks and this is the biggest victory of my life considering those circumstances,” said Djokovic after the win.
