Melbourne
\nAn emotional Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday to claim a 10th Australian Open title and equal Rafael Nadal\u2019s 22 Grand Slam crowns, a victory that returned him to world number one.
\nThe Serbian star overcame a hamstring injury and off-court drama on his return to Melbourne Park to sweep past the Greek third seed 6-3, 7-6 (7\/4), 7-6 (7\/5) on Rod Laver Arena.
\nHe surged to victory without father Srdjan in the stands after he sparked controversy by posing with a fan carrying a Russian flag featuring Vladimir Putin\u2019s face following his son\u2019s quarter-final win.
\nDjokovic climbed to his player\u2019s box after the win to embrace his mother and broke down in uncontrollable tears, collapsing to the ground sobbing.
\nIt capped a remarkable comeback by the 35-year-old fourth seed, who missed last year\u2019s tournament when he was deported over his Covid vaccination stance.
\nAfter a three-year ban from Australia was lifted, Djokovic won the lead-up Adelaide International before reinforcing his stature as an all-time great in Melbourne.
\nThe emphatic win drew him level with Nadal on a record 22 Slams, two clear of Roger Federer.
\nThe Spanish great made a shock second-round exit with a hip injury, but is targeting a return for the clay-court season and another crack at the French Open, and with it a 23rd Slam title.
\nNadal, though, is set to slide down the rankings when they are released on Monday, in contrast to Djokovic, who will dethrone Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz and return to the top for the first time since June.
\nTsitsipas will climb one place to three.
\nBoth men were back on a court that helped them rise to stardom. Djokovic won his first Grand Slam in 2008 on Rod Laver Arena while Tsitsipas burst on the scene in 2019 when he stunned defending champion Federer in the last 16.
\nWith sizeable Greek and Serbian communities in Melbourne, and Rod Laver in attendance, there was a raucous atmosphere.
\nDjokovic 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.
\nMoving freely with only minimal strapping on his troublesome left hamstring, he opened with a comfortable hold after being greeted by huge cheers.
\nDjokovic worked two break points on Tsitsipas\u2019s opening serve, to no avail, but kept probing and the Greek handed him a break for 3-1 with a careless double fault.
\nTsitsipas, in only his second Grand Slam final to Djokovic\u2019s 33rd, appeared nervous, losing the first set in just 36 minutes.
\nBut he battled back into contention in a much closer second set as his confidence grew, improving his serve and winning some pressure points.
\nHe earned his first break point \u2014 and set point \u2014 when Djokovic blasted a backhand wide.
\nBut the Serb clung on to keep the set on serve and it went to a tiebreak, where his greater experience came to the fore.
\nAgainst the odds, Tsitsipas broke for the first time on Djokovic\u2019s opening serve in set three, only to relinquish the advantage immediately after a gripping rally, furious with himself.
\nIt again went to a tiebreak, where Djokovic once again raised a level to claim another title.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Melbourne An emotional Novak Djokovic beat Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday to claim a 10th Australian Open title and equal Rafael Nadal\u2019s 22 Grand Slam crowns, a victory that returned him to world number one. The Serbian star overcame a hamstring injury and off-court drama on his return to Melbourne Park to sweep past the Greek […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310622,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-310605","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n