Novak Djokovic had the tennis world abuzz as many sang huge praises after he won his 10th Australian Open and record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam men’s singles title on Sunday. A year after being deported from Australia after the vaccine row, the Serbian great got his hands on the trophy once again to extend his winning streak at the Melbourne Major to 28 matches.
Djokovic beat 3rd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in just under three hours to maintain his unbeaten record in Australian Open finals. After an ice-cold celebration as soon as he clinched match point, the 35-year-old could not stop crying tears of joy as he embraced his family in the player’s box.
With the victory, Djokovic will return to the world No. 1 spot in the ATP rankings on Monday. It is the first time in his career that the Serb is tied with only of his Big 3 rivals in the race for the most Grand Slam singles titles won in men’s tennis history.
As the Belgrade native celebrated one of, if not the most important titles of his illustrious career, tennis fans applauded his legacy and ability to keep dominating at the top of the sport.
“This is much bigger than all his 21 Grand Slams coz he was ashamed like a criminal and laughed on by others but now my champion is top of Melbourne again and has joint most Grand Slams without taking the vaccine. He has won it on and off the pitch!” a Twitter user wrote.
“What a come back story from last years shambles of being deported … It’s quite emotional seeing him in tears right now!” another fan expressed.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Novak Djokovic’s 10th Australian Open title victory:
Novak Djokovic becomes only the second player ever to win the ‘La Decima’ at Grand Slams
After becoming only the second player after Rafael Nadal to win a 22nd Grand Slam men’s singles title, Novak Djokovic also became the second player after Nadal (14 French Open titles) to win a 10th title at the same Grand Slam tournament. The two greats of the sport will resume their all-time Grand Slam race at the French Open in May-June.
In Sunday’s final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, Djokovic bagged an early break in the first set and remained unbeaten on serve to close out the set 6-3. Tsitsipas played his best tennis in the second set, forcing a tiebreak and leveling proceedings from 1-4 to 4-4 in the tiebreak, but the Serbian superstar held his nerve when it mattered most to take a two-set lead.
Despite being broken early in the third set, the 35-year-old broke back right away and did not give Tsitsipas another chance throughout the set, before clinching yet another tiebreak to seal the win.
