A YEAR ON from his dramatic deportation, Novak Djokovic will pass through immigration control this time having to declare a record-extending tenth Australian Open title in his possession.
The guy who was unceremoniously booted out of Melbourne by customs officers without even hitting a ball – following a brief, undignified spell in a detention centre – will exit the country on this occasion hailed as a hero not an outcast.
A clinical 6-3 7-6 7-6 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas has now banished those painful memories of January 2022 when he created global headlines after being caught up in a major Covid vaccination row.
Having re-established his status as the King of Oz, Djokovic has, more pertinently, drawn level with his great rival Rafa Nadal in the singles Slam stakes and was left in tears at the end of the match.
The pair – whose rivalry is one of the most spectacular in professional sport – now share 22 tennis majors apiece and they will head to Paris in the springtime with the number 23 on their minds.
It is crazy to think that it is only TWO months ago that Djokovic’s three-year visa ban from entering the county was overturned by government officials.
But as he so often does, Djokovic cruised through this men’s draw, dropping only one set in the process, to be reunited with his lucky charm – the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
Though both men came into this final with unbeaten records for 2023, Greece star Tsitsipas had to think back to Shanghai almost four years ago for the last time he had taken Djokovic’s scalp.
The Serbian had won the previous NINE meetings, including that French Open final in 2021 when he came from two sets down to prevail in five.
Nobody had seriously pushed Djokovic over this past fortnight or even tested the strength and durability of the left hamstring that had been damaged in a tune-up tournament in Adelaide.
More to follow...
