On January 8, 2023, top seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia was 6-7 (8-8) in the men’s singles championship at the Adelaide International 1 2023. After three hours and nine minutes of gruelling play, Djokovic defeated the American Sebastian Korda 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4. The total time of the match was three hours and nine minutes. Djokovic showed admiration for Korda’s persistence by touching the index finger on his right hand to the top of his head after Korda’s final forehand shot went long.
The former world number one praised Korda’s clean ball striking before the match, and his praise was well-deserved as the American played brave baseline tennis to take action Serbian. Korda won the match. When Djokovic was serving at 5-6, 30/40 in the second set, all that was left for Korda to do to earn the most meaningful victory of his career was make one more decisive shot.
After a match, Djokovic, who has won 21 Grand Slam titles, was able to show his unseeded opponent who the better player was. His opponent had a match chance at 30-40 in his service game of the second set, when the score was 5-6, but he won the tiebreaker and the victory with a smash. This was the deciding point in the match.
Djokovic has racked up 34 victories in his career in Australia. It was his 92nd tour victory, and he will have momentum heading into the Australian Open next week, where he will strive for his 10th success. He will be playing for his 10th title.
“It’s been a dream week,” said Djokovic, who missed the Australian Open last year after being expelled from Australia for not having the coronavirus vaccine. “It’s definitely been a gift to be standing here.”.
“I think the support I’ve received in the last ten days has been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
“It really felt like we were playing at home.”
The 35-year-old is presently tied with Rafael Nadal for the fourth-most men’s singles titles in the Open Era, trailing only Jimmy Connors (109), Roger Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (94). Since the beginning of 2019, he has won 34 consecutive matches in Australia and 23 of his past 24 matches overall. This streak of success extends to all of his contests.
Djokovic received treatment on his left leg during his semi-final triumph over Daniil Medvedev in South Australia on Saturday. Despite this, he performed admirably in an explosive baseline exchange that set the stage for an exciting match.
