In the first set, Novak Djokovic demonstrated on his Australian court (where he was not welcome last year). The audience enjoyed the accuracy and offensive tennis.
Djokovic outplayed his opponent in every part of the game. Stefanos Tsitsipas seemed somewhat impressed. His serve faltered and the Greek made a lot of mistakes.
In the second set, playing time was over for Djokovic. And suddenly it was working with every point, because everything about Tsitsipas tennis was better: his serve, his returns, the confidence with which he hit the ball and the number of fouls.
Even the “Master of the Australian Open” contender earned a set point from Djokovic’s serve. Djokovic emerged from the tangle and pulled a tiebreaker shot.
In the second set tiebreak, Tsitsipas showed resilience after an early 4-1 deficit, but to no avail.
Djokovic, who knows and uses every inch of Rod Laver Arena, finished the match on his first set point. It gave him a 2-0 lead in sets.
Tsitsipas must have been very disappointed, but he didn’t let himself be broken mentally. And it will stay that way until the last point.
In the third set he continued to work more than play for Djokovic. Tsitsipas hit more winners than Djokovic, but the Greek foul load was also much higher.
The score was another tiebreaker. The 35-year-old Djokovic immediately tried to silence his 11-year-old opponent, who continued to fight back.
From 5-0 down at the tie-break, Tsitsipas came back to 6-5. It wasn’t until third match point that Djokovic managed to win again in Melbourne. With ten victories, no one even comes close to the Serbs. It also becomes No. 1 in the world again.
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