Just 12 months after being deported on the eve of the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic was again the last man standing at Melbourne Park in 2023.
The Serbian stepped out onto Rod Laver Arena – defying his age, his critics, and an untimely hamstring injury – to not only win his record-extending 10th Australian Open title and record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam title, but also reclaim his place atop the Men’s ATP Rankings.
The achievement has unsurprisingly made headlines around the world, with much focus on the clear gap between tennis’ ‘big two’ (Djokovic and Rafael Nadal) and the next generation of stars against the backdrop of the gripping race to become the greatest of all time.
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Stuart Fraser, writing for UK newspaper The Times, said “there was a sense of inevitability about the prospect of a 10th Australian Open title for Novak Djokovic the day the government here decided to lift his visa ban in November”.
“Two months later, the man who suffered the humiliation of deportation last year is once again the king of Melbourne Park,” Fraser wrote.
Simon Briggs, also writing for the UK Daily Telegraph, echoed his colleague’s sentiment by describing Djokovic as “so superior to his rivals that he had just eased through the tournament despite carrying a hamstring injury since day one”.
“After all the adversity he has faced – from the echoes of last year’s deportation to the controversy around his father Srdjan – the last fortnight has been testing on numerous levels. But he quelled the rough seas around him and eventually arrived at his goal,” he wrote.
Catherine Whitaker, speaking on the latest episode of ‘The Tennis Podcast’, concurred describing the result as a foreboding warning for the next wave of tennis players waiting in the wings.
“With (Carlos) Alcaraz on the sidelines and with (Rafael) Nadal an unknown quantity physically, he is just so much better than everybody else. That’s the long and short of it,” she said.
Whitaker’s co-host David Law agreed noting that the scariest part of Djokovic’s continued dominance is that he often reaches a level of performance that can make even the best feel completely helpless to combat.
“The fact that he played (Stefanos) Tsitsipas when Tsitsipas was coming into this match in really good form and fresh, there was nothing wrong with him, he was fine,” Law said.
“ … He can do things to an opponent. He can upset and unsettle an opponent unlike anybody else. Then he also has a gear when he relaxes and he can actually just wipe the floor with you, even if you’re playing well.”
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Tumaini Carayol, writing for The Guardian, was of the same opinion declaring: “There are few things in the history of professional sport as painful as facing Novak Djokovic at prime time on Rod Laver Arena.
“Inside the stadium he has made his own, Djokovic suffocates all challengers on return yet simultaneously serves them off the court. He smothers foes with his baseline aggression yet his defence makes the court feel so narrow. Over the past 15 years, no rival has been spared,” he wrote.
Meanwhile Carayol’s colleague Emma Kemp agreed, saying Tsitsipas was merely the latest in a long line of Djokovic victims.
“At least he is not alone. A lot of people have a Djokovic problem, and the list is not limited to other players (though 22 grand slam singles titles means there are many of those). The public, the media, even Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia have all spent the past two weeks examining the Serb with a level of suspicion reserved for one of sport’s most divisive figures,” she wrote.
“ … The point is more about the Djokovic response. After his semi-final win he conceded ‘like things are just kind of piling on’, but also that ‘it’s been part of my life’ and he must ‘become more resilient, stronger’.
“What that has looked like on the court is a man consumed but not gobbled up – by his sole objective of becoming the greatest of all time. He has tornadoed through the rounds at Melbourne Park as if in a vacuum; his critics voiceless, his opponents faceless. Even his 2021 Roland Garros final against Tsitsipas became a case of selective amnesia. He may as well be playing on the moon, a space suit shielding him from the outside environment; his own psychological extravehicular mobility unit.
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“And even from within his pressurised safe space, he was inside Tsitsipas’s head. Djokovic has never lost a semi-final or final at Melbourne Park because there is no clear blueprint for beating him. Though his body is 11 years his opponent’s senior, he did not just get to his wide shots but reached them in position, balanced for a meaningful return, shrinking the court as he went.”
Matthew Syed, writing for The Times in the UK, said that while public opinion on the 35-year-old’s personality may be divided, the opinion of his place among tennis’ greats should not be.
“Some will say that Djokovic is not as likeable as his peers but to the extent that we judge him on the qualities he brings to the court, he is surely unrivalled,” he wrote.
NADAL AND DJOKOVIC: THE BATTLE FOR SUPREMACY
With the win over Tsitsipas drawing Djokovic level with Nadal for the most men’s tennis Grand Slam victories, Whitaker highlighted on ‘The Tennis Podcast’ the captivating nature of their contrasting approach to reaching the sport’s summit.
“He and Nadal who are both now tied on 22 major titles, they are two supreme competitors, the like of which I’ve barely ever seen ever in any other sport, but in two completely different ways,” she said.
“You feel like Nadal is this incredible competitor because he has this unparalleled ability to stay in the present. To just (have the mindset that) this point, this moment, this shot is everything. It’s life or death to me in this split second.
“(Whereas) Djokovic it’s all about the macro, he’s this incredible competitor because you feel like his perspective is always panoramic. It’s always on the bigger picture and what it means for his legacy and his greatness and what it will mean back in Serbia and all of that. It’s all about the bigger picture.
“It’s sort of the same headline trait, but manifesting in two completely different ways. It’s fascinating and of course amplified in how fascinating it is by the fact that they’re both now tied on 22 (grand slam wins).”
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The Tennis Podcast co-host Matt Roberts said the battle for supremacy between the pair promises to be an enthralling storyline to follow throughout the rest of 2023.
“It’s the first time Djokovic has had a share of the lead. He’s always been behind. Well they were all tied on 20 (Federer, Djokovic, and Nadal), but this is the first time he has had a share of the lead with just one other person,” Roberts said.
“I thought (Novak’s coach) Goran (Ivanisevic) put it well when he said this was Djokovic’s home court. This is sort of his hold of serve if you like and now it’s over to Roland Garros, which is Nadal’s home court. Can Djokovic break (Nadal’s serve).
“I think Novak has got an advantage in that he kind of has got two home courts at the moment because he’s extremely dominant at Wimbledon as well. He’s won there every time since 2018 so I think it’s advantage Djokovic and I also think that … the Australian Open in the men’s game has really set the tone for the season because Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic have had such a grip on that event … Every year we start clean and one of the big three wins the Australian Open and it’s like ‘oh OK this is happening again’.”
Post-match, Djokovic alluded to the fact that the chance at further Grand Slam success is a key driver which still fuels him.
“I still have lots of motivation,” Djokovic said.
“Let’s see how far it takes me. I really don’t want to stop here. I don’t have the intention to stop here. I feel great about my tennis. I know that when I’m feeling good physically and am mentally present, I have a chance to win any slam against anybody. I like my chances going forward.”
ODD QUIRK IN GOAT RACE
Meanwhile Roberts revealed during ‘The Tennis Podcast’ a strange quirk in the Serbian’s record which may also serve as something for Djokovic to strive for as he pushes on into the twilight stages of his career.
“A very weird thing is that Novak Djokovic, I mean he’s not going to have any sleepless nights about this, but he still hasn’t won a (grand) slam without dropping a set and Enzo Couacaud has denied him that here,” Roberts said.
“It’s surprising isn’t it. I know (Roger) Federer and Nadal have both done that a few times, but Djokovic always has a match where he drops a set and (on this occasion) it was Enzo Couacaud.”
All eyes will be on Paris in May to see whether Djokovic or Nadal can claim the French Open title and with it capture the overall lead in the so-called ‘GOAT race’.
Adding even more intrigue to the back-and-forth nature of the race between the pair is that it is entirely plausible Djokovic could complete a Calendar Slam – a rare feat whereby a player wins all four major tennis championships in a calendar year – and yet be denied entry into the US Open, the last major of the year, thanks to the country’s stance on Covid-19 vaccinations.
Djokovic is likely to miss both the Indian Wells and Miami Open tournaments for the second consecutive year following the Transport Security Administration’s (TSA) decision to extend its vaccine mandate for all foreign travellers until at least April 10, meaning the 22-time Grand Slam winner will not be able to enter the U.S.
