A year after hitting an all-time low when he lost a court battle in Melbourne, Novak Djokovic was back on top of the world and in floods of tears as he celebrated a record-equalling grand slam triumph on Sunday.
Djokovic endured a nightmare start to 2022 when he was deported from Australia for breaching border entry rules, having arrived in the country believing he had a valid medical exemption that would enable him to play in the first major of the year without being vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Serbian superstar suffered the humiliation of flying home after his visa was cancelled and he failed with an appeal in a Federal Court.
He had been consigned to the Park Hotel immigration detention facility during a miserable short stay in a country where he loves playing the most and has experienced unprecedented success.
Djokovic will head home with very different emotions this time around after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to match Rafael Nadal's tally of 22 major singles titles for a male player.
The 35-year-old was also unable to play in the US Open last September due to not being vaccinated, but normal service was resumed as he claimed a record-extending 10th Australian Open title with a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5) triumph.
Djokovic could do nothing to prevent Nadal from lifting the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup 12 months ago, but nothing was going to stop him getting his hands on the trophy on Sunday.
Tsitsipas put up a courageous fight, but one of the all-time greats was a cut above as he continued his astonishing domination of the first major of the year.
Not since Hyeon Chung produced a huge fourth-round upset in 2018 has the Belgrade native been beaten in the Australian Open, this victory extending his winning streak in Melbourne to a staggering 28 matches.
Tsitsipas, 11 years younger than his legendary opponent, declared he was physically and mentally ready for the huge challenge of facing Djokovic in his first Australian Open final.
The third seed from Greece led Djokovic by two sets in his only other major final, but was consigned to defeat in a 2021 French Open thriller.
There was no such drama on this occasion, as the favourite maintained his perfect record in Australian Open finals 15 years after he was first crowned champion at Melbourne Park.
He served brilliantly, once again demonstrated why he is widely regarded as the best returner of all time, and showed no signs of a hamstring injury that was probably the only thing that would have stopped him from securing yet another title.
Djokovic had to contend with questions about his father, Srdjan, posing with a group of men waving Russian flags that have been banned from the grounds during this tournament earlier this week but nothing was going to distract him in his quest to make history.
He was clinical and drowned out noise from rowdy spectators that were ticked off by the chair umpire time and again as he won another battle between youth and experience.
There were 36 winners from king of Rod Laver Arena and only 22 unforced errors, while he ruthlessly took charge of the tie-breaks as Tsitsipas was made to pay for mistakes at such key moments.
Fourth seed Djokovic orchestrated the crowd with his racket after earning two match points and his emotions came out after he climbed up to his box, where he was mobbed by his team.
He sobbed during a long embrace with his mother, Dijana, and dropped to the floor a year after he was floored by being unable to play in a tournament where he has taken on all comers.
Djokovic described this as his biggest victory given what he has had to endure and it lifted him back to the top of the rankings.
It was the 93rd ATP Tour title of his career and came on the back of winning a tournament in Adelaide in a dream start to 2023.
Twelve months after he detained, his rivals were unable to contain him and it would be a surprise if he has not moved beyond Nadal's tally of grand slam triumphs by the end of year.
Alcaraz begins Madrid Open campaign with emphatic win
Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.
The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.
Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.
But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.
Data Debrief
Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.
That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.
Reigning champion Sabalenka pushed by Linette at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.
Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.
The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.
"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."
Data Debrief
Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.
Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.
Rybakina continues clay winning streak with victory over Bronzetti
In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.
Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.
Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.
She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.
Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company
Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.
Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.
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