by Novak Djokovic secured his tenth Australian Open after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas, and is now tied with Rafael Nadal with a total of 22 Grand Slams to their name. The Serbian defeated Tsitsipas in straight sets and climbs back to number 1 in the world.
Costly Double Fault and Forehand Errors
The Greek was determined to be courageous in the match and to take the game to the favourite. However, in crucial moments he made questionable decisions and too many unforced errors, which were his downfall. Notably, he gifted the break to Djokovic in the first set, as he chose to really go for the second serve at 30-40 down. In doing so, he double-faulted and gifted the break.
The Greek put up more of a fight for the second set, and riled the crowd to his side. Up 5-4, he forced Djokovic to serve to stay in the set and the Greek had a set point. However, Djokovic saved this with an emphatic forehand down the line. In the end, Tsitsipas missed both forehands in the deuce and Djokovic held. The forehand errors kept piling as in the end the Greek undid his good work and ultimately the Serbian punished him for it.
Despite going two sets down, Tsitsipas started the third set brightly and broke Djokovic immediately. However, he was broken back by Djokovic straight after, as the Serbian turned defence into offense. At that point, Djokovic played the numbers game knowing that pressure was on the Greek. The final set went to another tiebreak. However, Tsitsipas was careless with the ball, allowing 3 championship points to Djokovic. The Greek recovered one championship point with an emphatic forehand, which was too rare in the game. The decisive point came shortly after when Djokovic stretched Tsitsipas forcing him into the error that lost him the match.
Perhaps the loss in three sets does not tell the whole story. The Greek had a good strategy, and the improvement in his game was evident in the match. However, perhaps having danced the dance with Djokovic in the French Open of 2021 lurked in his mind and got to him somehow. In most cases, the errors came as he tried to be at times too perfect with his shots and instead of painting the line, the ball went just slightly too wide. Perhaps losing in three sets hurts a bit more, but it will definitely be a learning experience as he continues to chase his first Grand Slam.
Djokovic Back to Number 1
Despite having a bandaged thigh, the Serbian looked fit in the match and combined it with the mental fortitude that he is known for in such matches. An in-depth look at the statistics shows just how effective he was at critical points, winning 40% of the break points to Tsitsipas’ 33%. he was also unforgiving with his serve, winning a total of 82% of points with his first serve. He was also much more precise with a total of 22 unforced errors, to 42 by Tsitsipas.
It has been a few topsy-turvy years for Djokovic, notably having missed last year’s Australian Open due to Covid restrictions. However, he played the tournament with vigor hunting down the trophy like the champion he is and will look to kick on from here. The win puts him on equal par with Rafael Nadal and it sets things nicely for 2023 as their rivalry for the history books continues.
Photo by flou gaupr on Unsplash
