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On Sunday January 29, Novak Djokovic overtook Stefanos Tsitsipas to win his 10th Australian Open. The Serbian phenomenon has hooked his eternal rival Rafael Nadal at 22 Grand Slams and will try to overtake already at Roland Garros, scheduled for the end of May on the red clay in Paris.
As if that weren't enough, the 35-year-old from Belgrade returned to the top of the world rankings by ousting Carlos Alcaraz from the throne after 20 weeks of reign. Nole dominated the AOs far and wide, dropping just one set in seven games.
Goran Ivanisevic's protégé came to Melbourne with a left hamstring injury, but his level has been impressive from the round of 16 onwards. Many even questioned the veracity of that issue, an attitude that ended up annoying Novak himself.
On the sidelines of the tournament, AO director Craig Tiley revealed that Djokovic played with a three-centimeter tear in his left thigh. The 22-time Grand Slam champion had managed a very similar feat in 2021, when he was one step away from retirement during the match against the American Taylor Fritz.
McNamee defends Nole Djokovic
Paul McNamee is the latest name to show support for Novak Djokovic. "For the record, I’ve never seen Novak Djokovic move that badly, or go for so many winners… it’s a no brainer he was carrying an injury, but he was dedicated enough and good enough to overcome it.
How? By being the best player right now by a good margin," McNamee tweeted. Former American tennis player Jimmy Connors has defended Novak Djokovic over his refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine. "The guy stood up for his beliefs, right or wrong, some people are going to say moving to the left, the other is going to stay moving to the right? But he stood up for his beliefs and he was willing to stick by that, to the point of being ostracized from the game.
That's brutal. I can identify, I was ostracized," Connors said. "You know, from the French Open and from playing some tournaments and stuff like that. So, what the hell, go in there and do your job when that's the only way to get even.
And I hate to say that because it sounds like 'oh god, he's angry', I'm not angry. I just know how many of those people that have cr**ped on him last year and all that, are kissing his a** now. All of them."