A classic Djokovic lockdown!

    Novak Djokovic graced a jam packed Rod Laver Arena to a robust applause from his adoring Serbian contingent on yet another second sunday and produced a near perfect match of tennis, one which Stefanos Tsitsipas just couldn’t stand up against. Tsitsipas was playing good level of tennis coming into this match and Novak looked almost unbeatable having dropped only one set in the entire tournament. It was always going to be a huge mountain to climb for Tsitsipas but one thing he couldn’t afford was a shaky start and it was anything but that. Tsitsipas was making way too many errors in the first set which didn’t help him and lost serve fairly early in the match. Novak gave nothing away on his serve and closed out the opening set in less than 40 minutes. The greek looked better in the 2nd set and managed to hold onto his serve throughout the set but was very inconsistent in the breaker. He made as many as three forehand errors in the breaker to hand Djokovic the set, who in all honesty didn’t particularly play a great tiebreak himself. After an exchange of service break to kick off the 3rd set, Novak never looked in doubt as he cruised to a record equalling 22nd major of his career. 

    Tsitsipas had to come out firing and put Novak on the back foot straightaway but he failed to get even close to doing that. If you start defensively against the Serb, you’ve already lost half the battle. Casino Tennis could work the best against Novak like Medvedev showed everyone in 2021 in New York. Medvedev almost intimidated Djokovic on that night which is not an easy thing to do by the way. Tsitsipas’ forehand was the only shot which was bigger than Djokovic’s and he had to execute it to perfection. Stef never really tried to belt the forehand and paint the lines. He was very compact with the backhand as he always is which was never going to help the cause. For me, the key to Tsitsipas’ success in this final was to make Novak uncomfortable, by hitting offensive forehands or going to the net or maybe asking Djokovic to come to the net more often. In my view, routine tennis was never going to work because Novak is just the better tennis player in the end. On the other hand though, Djokovic was playing almost a perfect match. He only faced a break point in his 11th service game of the match which was staggering in itself. He was serving in the late 190s and hitting all the right spots on the first serve. Stef hardly had a riposte. Whereas in the return games Djokovic was making life difficult for the greek as he always does, especially in the 1st and 3rd set. Everything was coming back from Djokovic’s side and he really did test Tsitsipas’s shot tolerance. Novak only ever got in a sticky situation once when he was a set point down at 4-5 in the second set. He saved the set with a 20 shot rally in which Stefanos never urged to take the initiative. He waited for Novak to make a mistake which nobody saw coming. Djokovic has this incredible ability to go into a complete lockdown in situations such as the tiebreaks. It is mind blowing to see how he goes into a different mode and just does not give anything away. He did that against Federer in 2019 when he won three brilliant tiebreaks to win the championships. He was at it again in both the breakers, forcing the mistakes out of both the wings of his opponent. 

    The crowd was toxic on occasions but well behaved in general. It was always going to be hostile as both players have massive fan bases in Melbourne. It was meant to play a role in the match and it did. Both players really riled up the crowd on their moments which just added to a memorable night at the Rod Laver Arena. A tenth Australian Open is already a joke and 22 majors is beyond a joke. Djokovic has now won six of the last seven tournaments he has been in. He has already had some imperious seasons in his career and this could another one of those if he stays fit and healthy. Nobody really knows how that hamstring is holding up but if that’s not an issue, I don’t see anyone beating him in Indian Wells and Miami. I am sure he will play a few tournaments on clay before the french. He could actually skip a tournament or two on hard courts to prepare for Paris and give a real shot at a 23rd Grand Slam title.