Following his success over De Minaur at the Moselle Open last week, Giron beat the world number 26 once more as he battled to a 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-2) victory in two hours.
The unseeded American, appearing for the first time in Sofia, rallied from a break down in the second set to reach an ATP Tour quarter-final - where he will meet John Millman - for the fourth time this season.
Millman, who is seeded eighth, lost the first set against qualifier Illya Marchenko but recovered well to comfortably triumph 5-7 7-6 (7-0) 6-3.
However, it was far more straightforward for the other favourites, with top seed Jannik Sinner avoiding a second-set blip to defeat Egor Gerasimov 6-2 7-6 (7-3) and Gael Monfils getting a walkover against Ilya Ivashka.
Number five seed Filip Krajinovic coasted past fellow Serbian Laslo Djere 6-3 6-0 in just over an hour to set up a quarter-final tie with Kamil Majchrzak.
In Thursday's other match, world number 56 James Duckworth smashed Benoit Paire 6-4 6-4 in just an hour and 15 minutes to collect his 11th win in his past 12 outings.
Duckworth, who reached his first ATP Tour final in Nur-Sultan last week, will now challenge defending champion Sinner in the next round.
Dimitrov, seeded sixth in the Swedish capital, came up short against Lehecka, who seized a surprise 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7-5) win, his first on the ATP Tour since July.
Victory for Alex de Minaur was far more predictable, a 150th at tour level coming courtesy of a straight-sets defeat of Benjamin Bonzi.
In Antwerp, Dominic Stricker handed Van de Zandschulp a swift exit, winning 6-2 6-4 to stay on Lehecka's coat tails in pursuit of a place at the Next Gen ATP Finals.
Stricker's reward for this win will be a second-round encounter with French veteran Richard Gasquet, who knocked out three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka on Monday.
At the Napoli Cup, fifth seed Miomir Kecmanovic saw off wildcard Flavio Cobolli with ease, but others found life rather tougher.
Respective seventh and eighth seeds Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Adrian Mannarino fell to Nuno Borges and Pedro Cachin.
Tsitsipas has made a disappointing start to the season, but took just 71 minutes to dispatch Ymer 6-1 6-3 on Wednesday.
The ATP Finals champion lost just three points on his first serve and did not face a solitary break point in an emphatic win.
Second seed Tsitsipas will face Vasek Pospisil in the last eight following the Canadian's 6-3 6-4 defeat of eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz.
Sixth seed Benoit Paire made a surprise exit in his homeland, going down 3-6 6-4 6-4 to Alexander Bublik in the second round.
It was anything but plain sailing for Felix Auger-Aliassime, who saved two match points before getting past Stefano Travaglia 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (8-6) 6-3.
Auger-Aliassime's second-round opponent will be Pierre-Hugues Herbert, a 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 victor in his match against Mikhail Kukushkin.
Egor Gerasimov also reached round two by knocking out fellow qualifier Dennis Novak.
Fifth seed Delbonis and sixth seed Djere were the highest-ranked players in action on day two, but both fell to surprise defeats.
Delbonis, a recent semi-finalist at the Hamburg European Open, was convincingly beaten 6-2 6-4 by Arthur Rinderknech.
Frenchman Rinderknech fired down 10 aces and was only broken once in the contest.
Djere, meanwhile, put up more of a fight but ultimately succumbed to Daniel Altmaier, who won 4-6 6-3 6-3 in a battle lasting two hours and 10 minutes.
World number 50 Djere had also made the semi-finals in Hamburg and followed that up with another run to the last four at the Swiss Open Gstaad.
But his run of form came to an end as German Altmaier – who himself enjoyed a semi-final run in Croatia last week – booked a last-16 tie meeting with Marco Cecchinato after breaking Djere on six occasions.
Cecchinato had beaten Radu Albot in straight sets to reach the next round while qualifier Jozef Kovalik saw off Jaume Munar with a 6-4 6-4 victory.
The top four seeds, including number one Casper Ruud, will begin their campaigns at the ATP 250 event in Kitzbuhel on Wednesday.
Delbonis, who is seeded fifth and lost to eventual winner Pablo Carenno Busta last week in Hamburg, cruised to a 6-3 6-3 victory against Leandro Riedi as the Swiss player struggled to make home advantage count.
Seventh seed and loser of the other semi-final in Germany last week, Djere continued his good form and wasted no time in thrashing Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-4 6-3.
The other game on day two saw Dennis Novak dispatch of Kacper Zuk 6-4 6-4 and that straight-sets victory means the Austrian will next face the number three seeded player Casper Ruud, who won the Nordea Open last week to secure his third ATP title and second of 2021.
Alongside Ruud, the three other top four seeds - Denis Shapovalov, Roberto Bautista Agut and Cristian Garin - will now enter the draw, after benefiting from byes in the first round of the competition.
There was a surprise at the Croatia Open in Umag, though. Fifth seed Aljaz Bedene went down 6-1- 6-4 to Marco Cecchinato, who will now challenge fellow qualifier Damir Dzumhur to set up a potential quarter-final clash with Richard Gasquet if the Frenchman makes it through his round-of-16 tie.
The 31-year-old Argentine, who is currently ranked 41st in the world, went down 6-4 6-2 to the 111th-ranked Spaniard.
Former top 10 player Fernando Verdasco was also beaten on Tuesday, going down to Argentine Sebastian Baez 7-6 (8-6) 7-5.
The 38-year-old Spaniard dropped out of the top 100 last year for the first time since 2004 after a difficult season with a long-term leg injury and COVID-19 prior to the French Open.
Baez will play Chilean third seed Cristian Garin in the second round, while Taberner will meet qualifier Alejandro Tabilo after he beat wild card Francisco Cerundolo 6-4 6-1.
Lucky loser Colombian Daniel Galan also progressed into the last 32 after a 7-5 6-3 victory over Bolivian Hugo Dellien, while sixth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas triumphed 6-4 6-3 over Andrej Martin.
Eighth seed Delbonis lost serve twice in the first set against Roberto Carballes Baena but recovered well to claim a 7-5 6-1 victory in Marbella.
He will take on Norbert Gombos, who recovered to beat Juan Ignacio Londero 6-7 (3-7) 6-1 6-3, for a place in the quarter-finals of the clay-court event.
Kwon was made to do things the hard way against junior tennis world number one Rune, who took the match all the way.
Despite trailing 3-1 in the third set, seventh seed Kwon held his nerve to force a tie-break and prevailed 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7-4).
Ricardas Berankis is also through thanks to a 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 victory over Lucas Pouille in just under three hours.
Meanwhile, seeded pair Tommy Paul and Guido Pella fell at the first hurdle in the Sardegna Open to Yannick Hanfmann and Egor Gerasimov respectively.
Eighth seed Paul recovered after squandering a 4-1 lead in a first-set tie-break but fell 7-6 (10-8) 5-7 6-3, while seventh seed Pella lost 6-4 6-0 in straight sets to Gerasimov.
Elsewhere in Cagliari, Aljaz Bedene rallied past teenager Giulio Zeppieri 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-3) and Laslo Djere eliminated Italian wildcard Federico Gaio 6-4 6-2.
Number seven seed Djere beat Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5 7-6 (7-1) on the hard surface, while eighth seed Kwon comfortably saw off Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1 6-2.
Elsewhere, Thiago Monteiro earned an entertaining 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-2) win over Daniel Altmaier, and the Brazilian will now face number three seed Marin Cilic in the round of 16 after the 2014 US Open champion was given a first round bye.
The other encounter on Monday saw Steve Johnson come through in three sets against wildcard Aleksandar Vukic, 6-4 2-6 6-4. The American will go up against second seed Karen Kachanov in the last 16.
Two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist Gael Monfils is the top seed for the ATP 250 tournament, with Cilic, Khachanov and Frances Tiafoe among the other big names who will enter the competition in the next round.
Djere dethroned eighth seed Londero following a 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 7-6 (7-5) victory on the Cordoba clay courts on Friday.
Serbian fourth seed Djere rallied from a set down to earn a semi-final showdown with Schwartzman at the ATP 250 tournament.
World number 14 Schwartzman defeated Spanish fifth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-0 7-6 (7-0) in one hour, 40 minutes.
Schwartzman, who lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open fourth round last month, is eyeing his fourth Tour title and first in his native Argentina.
Cristian Garin – the third seed – and Andrej Martin will meet in the other semi-final.
Garin prevailed 1-6 6-3 6-4 over sixth seed Pablo Cuevas and Martin accounted for Corentin Moutet 6-3 6-2.
The tournament in Kitzbuhel is wide open with three of the four the semi-finalists being qualifiers after Argentine Schwartzman – the last seed left – went down to defeat in the last eight.
Djere triumphed 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 in one hour and 53 minutes, having lost his previous two matches against the world number 13.
"We played twice before this, so I knew it would be a really tough match with lots of running and fighting and that is what I got," said Djere, who also saw off the highly rated Jannik Sinner in the previous round.
"I played really good from the beginning until the end. It was a good match and I am really happy that I made it through to the semi-finals."
The semi-finals will see Djere play Yannick Hanfmann, who beat fellow German Maximilian Marterer 6-2 7-5.
Marc-Andrea Huesler followed up his shock win over top seed Fabio Fognini on Thursday with a 6-4 6-3 win over veteran Feliciano Lopez, making this the first time in ATP Tour history where three qualifiers made the last four.
Eyeing his first ATP title, Miomir Kecmanovic – now the highest-ranked player left at 47 - dug deep to beat Federico Delbonis 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 7-5 and book a meeting with Huesler on Saturday.
World number one Djokovic suffered a shock third-round exit to Dan Evans at the Monte Carlo Masters last week but ruthlessly dispatched Kwon Soon-woo 6-1 6-3 in his home city of Belgrade.
Djokovic broke his opponent five times to set up a meeting with eighth seed and fellow Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who battled past qualifier Arthur Rinderknech in three sets, in the quarter-finals.
"I thought it was a pretty flawless performance," Djokovic said. "I moved well, I was mixing up the pace quite well, making him play. I served well in the important moments, [and] overall I just felt great."
On playing in front of his family and friends, the two-time Serbia Open champion added: "It gives you an extra push, an extra motivation, energy to really give your best and leave it all out on the court.
"I think also that made me feel comfortable and confident on the court and I played really good. I'm really pleased with the quality of tennis."
Second seed Matteo Berrettini defeated fellow Italian Marco Cecchinato 6-4 6-3 and will face either Filip Krajinovic or Nikola Milojevic in the last eight of the clay-court tournament.
Over in Barcelona, Nadal – an 11-time champion at the event – was out to make a statement after a rare defeat on the dirt to Andrey Rublev in Monte Carlo.
But the 'King of Clay' needed two hours and 20 minutes to fight back against the unheralded Ivashka 3-6 6-2 6-4 to reach the round of 16, where he will face Kei Nishikori. Nadal is now 62-4 at a tournament where he once won 41 straight matches.
Second seed and Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas hammered Jaume Munar 6-0 6-2, while third seed Rublev - runner-up to the Greek on Sunday - joined Pablo Carreno Busta (6) and Alex De Minaur (14) in making it through.
Evans was unable to follow up his run in Monte Carlo with the 16th seed beaten by Corentin Moutet in a lengthy three-setter, while Fabio Fognini (9) was defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct after verbally abusing a line official when trailing 6-4 4-4 to Spanish qualifier Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
The Serbian remains without an ATP Tour title this season after losing 6-2 6-7 (4-7) 6-0 to Andrey Rublev on home clay in Belgrade on Sunday.
It has been a disrupted 2022 for Djokovic, having been prevented from playing the Australian Open due to his unvaccinated status, a factor which also meant he was barred from competing in tournaments in the United States last month.
He only made it as far as the quarter-finals of the Dubai Championships in his first tournament of the year in February and suffered a surprise loss to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the last 32 of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Djokovic showed signs of improvement in Serbia, though, as he defeated Laslo Djere, Miomir Kecmanovic and Karen Khachanov en route to reaching the final.
Rublev proved a step too far for Djokovic, who faded badly in the deciding set against an opponent aged 10 years younger, but the 34-year-old is remaining upbeat ahead of next month's French Open.
"Things are progressing slowly but surely," he said. "Paris is the big goal and hopefully by Paris I'll be ready.
"I have to look at the positives – playing the final in front of my home crowd, it was unfortunate that in the third set I ran out of gas and couldn't deliver more of a fight.
"After four three-set battles I can say that I am tired but also pleased that I managed to win the matches prior to this one.
"I think that will serve me for the continuation of the clay-court season."
Djokovic is set to return to action at the Madrid Masters in a little over a week's time, an event he enters as top seed.
The world number one had battled from a set down against Laslo Djere 24 hours earlier and was once more made to work hard for his win versus Miomir Kecmanovic.
The seventh seed took the opener without facing a break point and led early in the second set too.
But Kecmanovic could not hold off Djokovic, who recovered to win 4-6 6-3 6-3 and reach the last four for the fourth time in five campaigns in Belgrade.
After two victories in two nights against Serbians for the two-time winner, Djokovic is on a 10-0 run in matches with his compatriots and 27-4 all-time.
The 20-time grand slam champion also has a 36-6 record in Serbia and has particularly enjoyed the "strange" opportunity to face his countrymen in front of a home crowd.
"It's a very strange feeling, sharing the court with your compatriots," he said. "Obviously the crowd was phenomenal for both players in yesterday's match and today's.
"They're very rare occasions when I'm able to play at home and experience this atmosphere, so I'm trying to enjoy every single moment."
Djokovic is the last Serbian remaining in the tournament, though, and takes on third seed Karen Khachanov – a winner against Thiago Monteiro – in the semis.
There remain two quarter-finals to play on Friday, as Andrey Rublev faces Taro Daniel while Fabio Fognini welcomes the challenge of Oscar Otte.
Meanwhile, there were only two matches completed at the Barcelona Open due to rain, but Ilya Ivashka ensured fans were rewarded for their patience as he took Stefanos Tsitsipas the distance.
Ivashka eventually went down 6-1 4-6 6-2 to the top seed in a heavily delayed second-round contest.
Djokovic – who saw a three-year visa ban lifted in November – was playing with Vasek Pospisil in the doubles, and the duo lost 4-6 6-3 10-5 to Tomislav Brkic and Gonzalo Escobar on Monday, but the fans in attendance chanted "Novak" as they welcomed him back following his absence from last year's Australian Open.
The Serbian will face Constant Lestienne in the first round of the men's singles, but second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is already out after he lost to Alexei Popyrin.
Auger-Aliassime struggled throughout as his Australian opponent, ranked 120th in the world, put in a crowd-pleasing performance to go through 6-4 7-6 (7-5).
Another young star, Holger Rune, is also out after the fifth seed was beaten 2-6 6-4 6-4 by Yoshihito Nishioka.
Quentin Halys set up a potential second-round clash with Djokovic after beating Jordan Thompson in straight sets, while Miomir Kecmanovic, Jack Draper, Roman Safiullin and Thanasi Kokkinakis all progressed.
It was also a bad day for seeds at the Maharashtra Open in Pune, with Alex Molcan beaten 6-2 6-4 by Laslo Djere and Jaume Munar losing 6-4 7-5 to Tallon Griekspoor.
Dutchman Griekspoor will now play Marco Cecchinato after the Italian overcame Nikoloz Basilashvili, and Roberto Carballes Baena set up a last-16 clash against top seed Marin Cilic by defeating fellow Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles.
Filip Krajinovic did make it through a tussle with home favourite Sumit Nagal to set up a meeting with Michael Mmoh, while Benjamin Bonzi will face third seed Emil Ruusuvuori after beating Tseng Chun-hsin.
Playing in his home city of Belgrade, world number one Djokovic will be expected by many to carry off the trophy for a third time.
He scored a 4-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Russian Karen Khachanov in the first of Saturday's semi-finals.
Djokovic has made a habit of losing opening sets this week, rebounding from early deficits to beat fellow Serbians Laslo Dere and Miomir Kecmanovic on his way through to the last four, where it happened again.
The 34-year-old was able to recover and improve his career win-loss record to 13-2 at the clay-court tournament.
Djokovic, who has been prevented from playing events in Australia and the United States this year after refusing to be vaccinated against COVID-19, believes he is gradually building up form and match fitness.
He said in an on-court interview: "I'm already feeling quite comfortable on the courts. I think the three matches that went all three sets gave me enough of the match play.
"I was running enough in order to be at my optimum best. I don't think the lack of matches now plays a role. Maybe it was the case three or four days ago, not today.
"But in terms of the audience, of course that's going to be a huge motivation boost for me, so I'm going to enjoy the crowd's support as much as I can and hopefully bring the title to Serbia."
Rublev, another Russian, beat Italian Fabio Fognini 6-2 6-2 in the second semi-final, saying it had been his best performance of the week.
The world number eight is relishing playing Djokovic, saying: "It's going to be fun. Tomorrow I have nothing to lose, I can go out and enjoy it. He plays at home, so it will be his moment. The best I can do is fight and try to do my best."
The Serb broke his Russian opponent twice as he cruised to the opening set, and though Safiullin took the 21-time grand slam champion to a tie-break in the second, Djokovic's class showed as he won the tie-break 7-3 to ensure his place in Sunday's decider.
It was far from plain sailing for Djokovic, who conceded the tension in the second set was hard to handle.
Djokovic said: "I think it was a very competitive match, especially in the second set.
"I must say I was quite emotional on the court today in the second set, there was a lot of tension, and that was also due to his aggressive style of tennis. Big serves, and when he has time, he's so solid from the forehand and backhand corner.
"I knew that I had to stay very strong, and that he was definitely going to raise his level in the second set, which happened. I was serving for the match and played a couple of loose points, but credit to him for fighting back. It was an enjoyable evening on the court for sure."
Marin Cilic secured his spot as Djokovic's final opponent with a comfortable straight sets triumph over Constant Lestienne.
The Croatian second seed served 14 aces as he eased to victory in under two hours, winning 11 out of his 12 first-serve points en route to a 7-5 6-3 win.
Holger Rune is into the Sofia Open final after Jannik Sinner was forced to retire through injury with the Dane leading 5-7 6-4 5-2.
Sinner won the opening set but lost the second, and with Rune just one game away from winning the match, the top seed chose to retire with ankle pain, putting an end to his hopes of winning three straight titles in Sofia.
Rune will face Marc-Andrea Huesler in the final, after the world number 95 upset fourth seed Lorenzo Musetti.
The first set went to a tie-break as neither could find a break of serve, though Musetti found two in the tie-break to help him to a 5-1 lead.
However, the Italian surrendered the next six points as Huesler pulled off an incredible comeback to take the first set.
The second set was another tight affair as both held serve after serve, but Huesler finally found a crucial break to prevail 7-6 (7-5) 7-5.
Djokovic reached the semi-finals of the Serbia Open with a 6-1 6-3 defeat of fellow home hopeful Miomir Kecmanovic.
The world number one has looked at ease this week, after his return to action last week for the first time since the Australian Open saw a shock defeat to Dan Evans in Monte Carlo.
Djokovic will face Aslan Karatsev in the last four after the Russian saw off Gianluca Mager with a confident 6-3 6-4 win.
"I'm feeling very well on court, moving well, hitting the ball well and, of course, enjoying the home-court advantage," Djokovic said.
"So, I'm really excited to go out in the semi-finals on the court again tomorrow."
Having beaten Kecmanovic, who he said "has the potential to go far", Djokovic is the last remaining Serbian in the competition after Matteo Berrettini beat Filip Krajinovic.
Nadal, Djokovic's great rival, has also returned to form after dropping sets in consecutive matches earlier in the week.
His Barcelona Open progress was secured with a swift 6-1 6-4 quarter-final win over Cameron Norrie on Pista Rafa Nadal.
Nadal next takes on Pablo Carreno Busta after his 6-4 3-6 7-5 win over Diego Schwartzman, while second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas went through on the other side of the draw after a 6-3 6-3 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The semi-final opponent for Monte Carlo champion Tsitsipas will be the impressive teenager Jannik Sinner, though, rather than world number seven Andrey Rublev.
The 19-year-old Miami Open finalist won in straight sets against Rublev, breezing through the opener 6-2 and then fighting to see out the second 7-6 (8-6), saving a set point with the first of three consecutive points that sealed the match.
The world number one did not have it all his own way against the world number 255, with the first set featuring just three service holds.
But Djokovic claimed four breaks to Molcan's three to take the opener and did not let his advantage slip in front of his home crowd.
He negotiated a similarly tricky second set to prevail 6-4 6-3, with attention now turning to the second grand slam of the year after Djokovic won the Australian Open back in January.
After a resilient performance in the first set as he twice came back from a break down, Djokovic was able to enjoy a slightly less frenetic path to victory in the second.
He broke down a more obdurate Molcan for a 4-2 lead, only for the Slovak to hit straight back.
But Djokovic was not to be denied and immediately claimed another break, which he consolidated to delight his adoring public.
Victory in what was Djokovic's first final on home soil since 2011 means he now has 83 ATP singles titles to his name, with three of them coming at this event.
It also caps a positive period of preparation for a tilt at a second French Open title, with Djokovic having reached the final in Rome this month only to lose to Roland Garros favourite Rafael Nadal.
Nadal and Djokovic could meet in the semi-finals this year in Paris, where the Serbian was thrashed by the King of Clay in three sets in the 2020 final.
Djokovic will start his campaign to add to his 2016 French Open success when he faces Tennys Sandgren in the first round.
Djokovic's 6-2 7-6 (7-4) triumph on Tuesday set up a quarter-final tie against Federico Coria, and put the world number one level with Argentine great Guillermo Vilas for the fifth-most match wins in the Open Era (951).
It was his 17th win of the season, as the 34-year-old looks to prepare for the French Open with a third title success in his home tournament.
"With this win I managed to put my name in another history record book," Djokovic said following his victory.
"Obviously being in the same conversation with Vilas and the legends and greats of our game, it makes me really fulfilled and very joyful."
Djokovic has some way to go to make it into the top four on the all-time list, however.
He is 71 wins adrift of Rafael Nadal (1,022), who sits fourth. Ivan Lendl (1,068) is third, behind Roger Federer (1,243), who still has Jimmy Connors' record of 1,274 Open Era wins in his sights.
Despite a tight start, Djokovic got away from Moraing by winning four straight games.
Moraing hit back in set two to force a tie-break, but his illustrious opponent had too much quality.
"I was twice a break up in the second set so I maybe could have finished out the job earlier, but credit to him for fighting, for playing really well, for playing very courageous, very bold tennis," Djokovic said.
After turning 34 on Saturday, Djokovic received a bye to the second round of the Belgrade Open. He lost in the semi-finals of the Serbian Open last month, and came into this event on the back of a defeat to Nadal in the Rome Masters final.
Next up is Coria, who defeated Pablo Cuevas 6-3 6-2, though Djokovic's compatriot Pedja Krstin dropped out, crushed 6-0 6-0 by Slovakian Alex Molcan.
At the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, fifth seed Richard Gasquet defeated Daniel Altmeier 6-3 6-3, while Sebastian Korda defeated Andreas Seppi to tee up a tie with top seed Lorenzo Sonego.
Lorenzo Musetti claimed his 13th tour-level win of 2021 by overcoming Gianluca Mager, and the Italian's reward is a meeting with Yoshihito Nishioka, who beat Sam Querrey.
The 35-year-old certainly did not have it all his own way as the American gave a brilliant account of himself, but Djokovic had the nous to get his 92nd tournament win over the line 6-7 (8-10) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
During a gruelling encounter that lasted three hours and 11 minutes, there was precious little to separate them with only three breaks of serve in total.
Two of those came in the first set. Korda had the initial advantage, a gorgeous backhand down the line punishing a stranded Djokovic, but he instantly hit back as his opponent found the net with what looked a routine shot.
The subsequent tie-break was similarly neck-and-neck until a Djokovic slice went long and then he put another return into the net to hand Korda the set, the Serbian venting his frustration at his team at the interval.
Korda then had the opportunity to win the championship towards the end of the second set, but Djokovic worked the situation bravely before a smashed volley emphatically saved him, with another tie-break soon arriving.
Djokovic surged into a 6-1 lead and eventually grasped his third set point, and from then on there only looked like being one winner, with the 21-time grand slam champion pouncing on his first break point in the decider to take the win.
This tournament was of course Djokovic's first in Australia since being deported ahead of the 2022 Australian Open due to his unvaccinated status.
Upon his return to the country where he has won nine grand slams, Djokovic was feeling the love.
"It's been an amazing week and [the fans] made it even more special. For me to be standing here is a gift, definitely," Djokovic said in the trophy ceremony.
"I gave it all today and throughout the week in order to be able to get my hands on the trophy.
"The support that I've been getting in the past 10 days is something that I don't think I've experienced too many times in my life, so thank you so much [to] everyone for coming out every single match."
Success ensured Djokovic levelled Rafael Nadal (92) for fourth-most men's singles titles in the Open Era, with only Ivan Lendl (94), Roger Federer (103) and Jimmy Connors (109) winning more.
