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It is official now. Novak Djokovic has won another Australian Open, besting Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6, 7-6.
Djokovic has now won his 10th career Australian Open title, by far more than anyone else in history at that particular tournament, man or woman. Only Rafael Nadal, Djokovic's main rival, has ever shown superior dominance at a Grand Slam event, that being the French Open, which he has won 14 times. The two men stand alone not only in their utter and complete dominance at these particular tournaments, but also in being undefeated once they reach the Final for these tournaments. Nadal is 14-0 when he reaches the French Open Men's Final, while Djokovic is now 10-0 when he reaches the Australian Open Men's Final.
This also marks Djokovic's 22nd Grand Slam championship, tying the record for most Grand Slams won by a man which had been held by Nadal. Now, the two rivals are tied atop that all-time list once again. The next Grand Slam event is the French Open, where Nadal is the obvious candidate to win. His historical dominance on clay courts, and particularly at Roland-Garros, is now already almost stuff of legend. You have to figure that he has a decent chance to earn a 23rd career Grand Slam, and a 15th French Open title, at that point. However, Djokovic is one of only two men to have defeated Nadal at the French Open, and he also stands as the only player in history to have beaten Nadal twice there. Plus, Djokovic is generally regarded as more consistent on the other surfaces, and with Wimbledon and the US Open following, it seems like both men will have the opportunity to add to their already impressive trophy collections.
Together with the recently retired Roger Federer, the "Big 3" have dominated the men's game in tennis dating back to early 2004, when Federer won his second Grand Slam title by capturing the Australian Open, and then reaching number one for the first time. Since then, with very few exceptions, it has either been Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic sitting stop the number one ranking, and collecting far and away the most major trophies, particularly Grand Slam titles.
In short, this has been an incredible time to watch brilliance, incredible talent, and very strong work ethic by these three men. It still continues, even if Federer now is no longer in the picture.
On one small note, I will say that I am glad that Djokovic won today against Tsitsipas. Why? Because I believe that Tsitsipas is, frankly, a bit of a brat, and possibly a xenophobe in certain regards.
Now, why would I say that? Well, in a 2019 US Open match, the referee warned Tsitsipas against delaying the game while Tsitsipas was evidently craping up. Tsitipas fired back:
“For some reason, you have something against me,” Tsitsipas said to Dumusois. “I don’t know what ― because you’re French probably. And you’re all weirdos. You’re all weirdos.”
Asshole.
Nor was that the only time that Tsitsipas showed such ridiculous and inexcusable behavior. Tsitsipas has a rather extensive history of ridiculous, unsportsmanlike, and frankly inexcusable behavior, to the point where it is well-known among anyone who is familiar with tennis. He has a tendency to take long bathroom breaks and to resort to body shots when he gets into trouble against an opponent. The ATP actually modified it's rules on bathroom breaks after Tsitsipas took such a long bathroom break when he got into serious trouble in a match against Andy Murray. In November - just a couple of months ago - Tsitsipas hit a ball in the direction of the players box in a match against Andrey Rublev, which he eventually lost. Also, he once called Daniil Medvedev a "bulls*** Russian." Again, obnoxious and close-minded, frankly spoiled behavior by Tsitipas. Whenever an idiot like Tsitipas labels "all" of one particular group for being something unflattering, or insults somebody's nationality - which he has done more than once, and in very publish fashion, at that - you are not dealing with a genius, or a thoughtful person. Tsitipas seemed to me to be a spoiled brat, whining because he was not getting his way. A classless and clueless dumb jock, who makes it hard, if not impossible, for thoughtful people to root for him.
Let's face it: Tsitsipas seems to typify the dumb jock mentality. Clearly, he is very talented on the court, and can and has done some amazing things. For that, he obviously works hard at conditioning, keeping himself fit. Too bad that he does not seem to exercise that most important muscle in his head as much as he works on the ones in the rest of his body. What makes it worse is that he comes from a privileged background, and plays in a sport sometimes itself regarded as elitist.
So yeah, on that note, I am glad that Tsitipas lost this one. I do not usually rejoice in someone's losses like this, except when there is a good reason for it. And with Tsitsipas, I think there is an abundance of reasons to rejoice in his losses. Frankly, it is unfortunate and completely unnecessary. I actually would normally pull for someone from a relatively small country that does not get much attention in the sports world, such as Greece. It is sad to me that Tsitsipas makes it so damn difficult to root for him.
U.S. Open Loser Insults Umpire For Being French: 'You're All Weirdos.' by Ron Dicker Aug 28, 2019:
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stefanos-tsitsipas-french-weirdos-us-open_n_5d66693be4b022fbceb3dd11
Does Stefanos Tsitsipas fly under the radar when it comes to the worst sportsmanship on the men’s tour? by Myre Aberdan6 months ago
https://lobandsmash.com/2022/07/02/stefanos-tsitsipas-fly-radar-comes-worst-sportsmanship-mens-tour/
Tsitsipas: A pattern of gamesmanship and bad behavior Thread starterjm1980 Start dateSep 29, 2020
https://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/index.php?threads/tsitsipas-a-pattern-of-gamesmanship-and-bad-behavior.680421/
Stefanos Tsitsipas shows ugly side again in loss to Andrey Rublev published by James Richardson in Tennis365, November 19, 2022:
https://www.tennis365.com/atp-tour/stefanos-tsitsipas-shows-ugly-side-loss-andrey-rublev/
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