Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic beats Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to lift record 10th title

The title win at Melbourne Park also helped the Serbian match Rafa Nadal's 22 Grand Slam titles.

Fourth seed Novak Djokovic beat third-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas (6-3, 7-6, 7-6) in straight sets to claim his 10th Australian Open title at the Rod Laver Arena after winning the 2023 edition. He becomes the third player to get to the double digits (winning a single grad slam), with 10 Australian Open grand slam titles, with Nadal leading the pack (14 French Open titles). With the Australian Open title, the Serbian is also back to World No. 1 rank in the ATP singles rankings.

Djokovic got off to a great start winning the first game with ease. The Serbian had a chance to break Stefanos Tsitsipas's serve early but couldn't capitalize on the lead and levelled terms at 1-1. The initial win predictor showed Djokovic's win percentage of 80 and Tsisipas at 20 per cent. The former World No. 1 continued to attack Tsitsipas' serve and this time was successful in breaking serve and led 3-1 in the first set.

Going into the final, experts were talking about the weakness of Tsitsipas which is his backhand return and up to an extent it was good, but the end result did not go in his favour with the Greece international losing out points with ease. Novak Djokovic capitalized on the lead and won the opening set comfortably (6-3). The first set did not have long rallies with the points being won inside ten shots.

The Greece international started the second set on a positive note winning the first game on serve. The backhand return on the second serve amazed everyone (Stan Wawrinka is a master in backhand second-serve return). The match was evenly poised with both players winning their respective serves which led to a tie-break. The Serbian wasn’t at his best in the second set but held on to it with experience by his side.

Stefanos Tsitsipas had a set point at 5-4 but couldn't capitalize on it. Djokovic had won 23 of the previous 28 tie-breaks and was the favourite to win it as well. Stefanos, on the other hand, had to deal with pressure and was in desperate need to win the set which cost him losing the tie-break (4-7). The Serbian did not have support from the spectators and was often disturbed by them during his serves. The umpire had to intervene frequently, but the disturbance did not stop Djokovic from winning the set.

The third set started with a timeout and for the first time, Tsitsipas was able to break Djokovic’s serve and lead (1-0). The 35-year-old came back strong and held Tsitsipas' serve levelling scores at 1-1. The Greece international was 30-0 up in the second game but couldn't hold on to the advantage losing crucial points. The third set again went down till the tiebreaker and Djokovic won it comfortably (7-5).

The Serb was once again unhappy with a certain section of the crowd which saw him losing out a point in the tie-breaker. Stefanos, after a poor first set, came back harder but couldn't convert a few crucial points coasting him to the maiden grand slam title.

Novak Djokovic Stats

28 unbeaten streak at the Rod Laver Arena

10th Australian Open title

An unbeaten streak on Australian soil since 2019.