ATP
Djokovic crowned king of Melbourne with 10th AO title
Novak Djokovic won his 10th Australian Open and will return to the No. 1 ranking after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) on Sunday to claim a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title.
The Serb, supported by at least half of the 15,000 inside the Laver arena and an estimated 30,000 watching around the grounds of Melbourne Park on giant screens, overcame his Greek opponent for the 11th time in their 13 meetings.
He claimed his 93rd career title with his 28th consecutive win at the Open after Tsitsipas saved two match points in the third-set tiebreaker.
He scrambled into the stands post-match to hug it out with his coaching team and family before returning to his bench and burying his face in a towel.
It took nearly three hours for the 35-year-old to pull level with Rafael Nadal at the top of the all-time men’s trophy table; Roger Federer retired last September with 20 majors.
“This was one of the most challenging tournaments I’ve ever played in my life,” an emotional Djokovic said.
“Not paying last year, coming back this year.. people made me feel welcome and comfortable.
“I have to pinch myself when living through this moment. Only my team and family know what we have been through the last few weeks.
“But this is probably the biggest victory of my life considering the circumstances.”
The winner also had kind words for his defeated opponent:
“On court we are fierce competitors, but that doesn’t mean we don’t respect each other.
“I congratulate you on an amazing tournament, tough luck tonight but a great battle.
“This is definitely not your last Grand Slam final. You have lots of time – much more than me,” the 35-year-old told his 24-year-old opponent.
Tsitsipas was defeated for the second time in a Grand Slam final after losing to Djokovic in the Roland Garros title match two years ago despite winning the first two sets.
While Djokovic will take back the top ranking spot from Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz on Monday, Tsitsipas will claim the third spot, his career-best ranking.
The Serb showed no signs of the leg injury which has been heavily taped throughout the fortnight as he came to the court with just a modest taping.
Tsitsipas, with 10 career titles, remains without a tournament trophy outside of his native Europe.
Djokovic polished his perfect record in Melbourne finals as he won his tenth without a defeat.
Djokovic snapped up the opening set in barely half an hour, losing just five points on serve and never facing a break point.
The Tsitsipas resistance stiffened in the second set with back-to-back love holds.
The Greek kept it all on serve, pushing Djokovic to frustration at being forced onto defence in the seventh game to trail 4-3.
With Djokovic still seething and yelling at coach Goran Ivanisevic, the set went into a tiebreaker as the Serb started to calm down.
But there was still work to do, with Tsitsipas fighting back from 4-1 down to level at 4-all. Djokovic earned a set point as his opponent returned long and took a two-sets-to-love lead seconds later when Tsitsipas hit the net with a return.
The third set started seven minutes late due to an aerial drone show above the venue which interrupted the flow of the match.
Djokovic got off to a poor start after the interruption, dropping serve in the opening game,
A break point in the second game on the Tsitsipas serve went begging before the Serb got the job done for 1-1 on his second chance.
With the set going into a decider, Djokovic took a 5-0 lead before his opponent could react, earning an emotional victory as Tsitsipas sent a return long.
“This match speaks for itself,” Tsitsipas said. “It’s all in the numbers, congrats.
“It’s been an unbelievable journey for you,” he said to Djokovic. “I admire what you have done for our sport.
“You make me a better player when I’m on the court with you.
“I’ve played a lot of high-intensity matches, but Novak brings out the best in me. He;s one of the greatest in our sport.
“He pushes every other payer to the max.”
Main photo:- Australian Open 2023 Novak Djokovic (SRB) celebrates with his player box as he wins Men’s singles final by Roger Parker International Sports Fotos Ltd
Two-time champion Casper Ruud had to work for more than two and a half hours to overcome Jaime Faria, the Portuguese who put out Stan Wawrinka in the first round at the Gstaad Swiss Open on Thursday.
Faria was riding the momentum from Tuesday’s defeat of three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, set to retire this season and beaten in an opening match at his home venue.
Faria had his eye on a second upset as he faced Ruud, who lifted the trophy at this elite alpine village in 2021 and 2022.
Ruud ahd to dodge a bullet and mount a comeback to get through the second-round test against the Portuguese.
After dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker, Ruud played patiently as Faria saved five break points in the sixth game of the second set before failing on the sixth.
Ruud then pulled away for a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 victory, his first since Roland Garros.
“Sometimes it is hard to say when you get a good feeling and you start to win some games in a row,” the winner said.
“You try from the first game to the last, but suddenly something clicked in the middle of the second for me, luckily.”
He added: “I had to really fight hard and if I played one bad game in the second and he serves well, it could be over and it would be time to go home. But luckily I can extend the stay.”
The Scandinavian could join Spaniards Sergi Bruguera and Alex Corretja as three-time winners in the Alps, with Ruud now standing 10-1 here over his career.
Stefanost Tsitsipas said he slept soundly prior to finishing off a darkness-interrupted match on Thursday as he eliminated local Jerome Kym at the Gstaad Swiss Open.
The Greek who once cracked third in the world and the 186th-ranked Swiss returned to the clay after darkness on Wednesday night left them hanging at 5-all in the third set.
Tsitsipas revved up his game from the resumption to emerge into the quarter-finals 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5).
The second seed now standing 85th in the world after several poor seasons and a split with his father as his coach, said getting his rest was not a problem after the interruption.
“It was strange going to bed and not being finished. I visualised what I wanted to do, my shot patterns.
“It worked out pretty well.
“I had a good night’s sleep, I was not too stressed and I recovered to get ready for the continuation.”
After saving break points in the first game on Thursday, Tsitsipas triumphed in the final-set tiebreaker
“I’m relieved I was able to save a couple of break points.. I put my game together and made it )victory) happen again.”
The Greek now faces off against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech for a semi-final spot.
“I’m expecting a lot of big serves, the altitude (1050m) helps. I’ll try to build consistency around my own serve.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas was handed a reprieve due to fading light with his second round match at the Swiss Open Gstaad stopped with the Greek deadlocked with local Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-7 (2), 5-5.
The math had to be halted as night fell and electronic linecalling computers could not read the path of the ball on the clay in contrast to humans who could have carried on for a few additional minutes..
The 27-year-old Tsitsipas was taking the worst of it in the concluding stage after a promising start.against a journeyman opponent ranked 186.
Tsitsipas, his ranking down to 85th after once standing third in the world, lashed out verbally in the last few games, apparently frustrated with his racquet reactions.
The Greek was quick to make his point of an overnight stoppage to the chair umpire while Kym – who reached 5-all with a love service hold – left the court with a defiant fist pump for his public in this alpine resort village.
The cutoff came after just over two hours of play, with the contest to be concluded on Thursday. The winner reaches the Friday quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas produced his last notable result in April with a fourth-round showing at the Madrid Masters,
He is aiming for his second quarter-final of the season after Doha in February and his 2025 Barcelona 15 months ago.
Tsitsipas stands 10-1 vs. players ranked outside the top 100 this season with a sole loss to No. 104 Italian Matteo Arnaldi at the Roland Garros second round.
History repeats for Argentine spoiler in Gstaad
Ruud survives a scare to secure Gstaad quarters
Tsitsipas finishes off Kym after overnight pause
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