Melbourne, Jan 30: Novak Djokovic clearly is not done dominating his sport.
He says so.
His coach says so.
And, most importantly, his performances throughout a draining run to a record-extending 10th Australian Open championship and record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title, plus his return Monday to No. 1 in the ATP rankings, say so.
His message on Sunday night, essentially, was: Look out.
“I still have lots of motivation. Let’s see how far it takes me. I really don’t want to stop here. I don’t have intention to stop here,” the 35-year-old Djokovic said after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, a man more than a decade his junior, by a 6-3, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) score in the final at Melbourne Park. “I feel great about my tennis. I know that when I’m feeling good physically, (and) mentally present, I have a chance to win any Slam against anybody.” Hard to argue.
Not only has no man won more major trophies (Rafael Nadal also has 22; Margaret Court, with 24, and Serena Williams, with 23, are the only players in history with more), but Djokovic just keeps applying constant pressure on opponents – regardless of the surface or any apparent obstacles in his way.
He returned to Australia with some trepidation, unsure of what sort of reception awaited a year after he was deported for not being vaccinated against COVID-19, and was fine.
He dealt with a sore left hamstring, and was fine, dropping one set along the way to the title. (AP)
