Djokovic’s Australian Open triumph shows there is no one to touch the world No.1

Work and the ability to take pain and setback are every bit the mark of a champion as much as the size of the trophy cabinet.

Djokovic’s victory speech was almost as long as his career but it was heartfelt. Some may think it saccharine but he made the point both he and the man he beat, Stefanos Tsitsipas, didn’t have many to look up to in the professional ranks as juniors.

He spoke of a disadvantaged childhood and how the more difficulties and challenges a child has faced the stronger they become, at which point a personal addendum came into my head having been around the sport for 50 years and that is ‘as long as they survive’.

Djokovic’s sobbing in his players’ box after this three-hour victory was the outpouring of a total effort. It may also have reflected his father’s antics in being pictured with a fan holding a flag with Vladimir Putin’s face on it after the quarter-finals. Notably, Mr Djokovic was not present for either of the last two matches.

How to find words to describe his actual tennis and the level Novak has reached? Well, he is virtually unplayable and there is no question he does the basic bits of the sport better than anyone else. The sheer technical brilliance and footwork behind the second point of the third-set tie-break are a case in point. Understanding the risk/reward of the point he took on the Tsitsipas second serve up the line for a clean winner while well inside the baseline.

The ninth point in the same breaker was another example. Behind a first serve he offered Tsitsipas nothing, changing heights over the net, ball direction and ball speed and, with the court opened up, he gained three match points with a forehand winner from shot No.13. Coaches say the game is a simple one and, while options 
may look straightforward, it is that quality of knowing which one to choose that gives players self-belief when it really counts.

So that’s ten Australian Open titles and 28 wins in a row in Melbourne, and I was glad to hear Djokovic reference his treatment a year ago when he was deported over his vaccination status. This is one resilient man with skin as thick as a rhino.

These two finalists were also playing for the world No.1 ranking – Djokovic is in his 374th week in top spot. I don’t know where his tennis story ends but he returns to grand-slam play at Roland Garros in May.

That is Nadal’s house but wouldn’t Djokovic absolutely love it if this was where he sets a new record for men’s grand-slam titles.

Tsitsipas hopes rest on Novak calling it quits

Beaten finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas follows in a fairly long line of players who have probably had enough of Novak Djokovic.

His great opportunity at getting into the winner’s circle at a major was at the French Open two years ago where he squandered a two-set lead to Djokovic in the final. A loss like that leaves a scar and Tsitsipas – and his team – must be commended for carrying on operating at such a high level.

He is now world No.3 but there will be no consoling him in the knowledge his standard is not high enough to unseat Djokovic – a man 11 years his senior.

Perhaps he will have to wait for the Serbian to retire or for his powers to wane before he can realistically expect to win his yearned for major title.

Tsitsipas, 24, will put himself in a place to win many more times although he is not the most exciting young player. That is Carlos Alcaraz whose reign as world No.1 ended yesterday. He looks like the only one who could dominate the next few years.

Nightmare’s over at last for Aryna

Much was made before the women’s final of the background of the two players. There was Russian-born Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina and Belarusian 24-year-old Aryna Sabalenka – Belarus and its athletes are banned by many sporting authorities over its support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When the match started, though, the talk was only about tennis because this was a stunning final.

Sabalenka doesn’t hold back. She is a genuine shotmaker and all-court player, while her opponent is consistently underrated despite regular success at the top level.

The two best service motions in the game were on display and both players go for their shots. The transformation Sabalenka has made in her motion came about when she dumped her psychologist but added a biomechanist.

This was a brave move from a woman who has suffered from the involuntary convulsion of the mind called the yips, which have ended many a career and hounded many players in their quietest moments.

The yips are when one part of your game completely evaporates. For Sabalenka the manifestation of this was with the ball toss and last year, at the most important moments in a match, she did not know where the ball was going on the toss-up.

It is a nightmare, I’ve had it and there is no medicine.

Sabalenka is known as the hardest worker on tour, the woman most willing to put the hours in on court and off, and when she needed self-belief she was rewarded in a final that she won from a set down. Her 17 aces helped her over the line.

Unable to represent Belarus, the world No.2 is the first neutral athlete to win a grand slam, she has won her first 11 matches of the season and may be the player to beat this year.