West News Wire: By defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in the championship match at Rod Laver Arena, Novak Djokovic has captured his 10th Australian Open title and a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam trophy overall.
The Serbian star defeated first-time Australian Open finalist Tsitsipas on Sunday with scores of 6-3, 7-6 (4), and 7-6 (5) despite having only dropped one set throughout the competition due to a left hamstring injury he had expressed concern about.
Djokovic regained the top spot in the world from Carlos Alcaraz as a result of winning the first Grand Slam of the year.
The 35-year-old was barred from playing in the Australian Open a year ago after being expelled from the nation for not having received a COVID-19 vaccination.
Government restrictions have eased since, and he was able to get a visa this time despite still not having gotten vaccinated against COVID.
“I have to say this has been the most challenging tournament I have played in my life not playing last year, coming back this year,” Djokovic said after the match. “Only the team and the family knows what we have been through in the last four or five weeks.”
Now Djokovic has extended his winning streak at the hard-court tournament to 28 matches.
His 10th trophy in Australia adds to the record he already held. His 22 major championships which include seven from Wimbledon, three from the US Open and two from the French Open are tied with Rafael Nadal for the most by a man in the history of tennis.
With sizeable Greek and Serbian communities in Melbourne, and Rod Laver in attendance, there was a raucous atmosphere.
Djokovic came into the match with his confidence high having won all nine of his previous Australian Open finals and with a 10-2 career advantage over the Greek.
