Sports
DJOKOVIC WINS HIS 10TH AUSTRALIAN OPEN TITLE
Djokovic crushed the Grand Slam dream of Greek trailblazer Stefanos Tsitsipas in the one-sided final match by winning 6-3 7-6(4) 7-6(5), a rematch of the 2021 French Open decider.
NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA • JANUARY 29, 2023
Djokovic at Australia Open [Photo Credit; Sky Sports]
Novak Djokovic was ruthless on Sunday as he resumed his reign over Melbourne Park by winning a record-extending 10th Australian Open title.
Djokovic crushed the Grand Slam dream of Greek trailblazer Stefanos Tsitsipas in the one-sided final match by winning 6-3 7-6(4) 7-6(5), a rematch of the 2021 French Open decider.
He used the victory at Rod Laver Arena to reclaim the world number one ranking and again deny Tsitsipas a maiden major title.
The atmosphere was electric, and the crowd often unruly as Serbian and Greek fans bayed in the terraces as if roaring on football teams.
But at the finish, “Nole! Nole” chants won out as Djokovic stormed to a 5-0 lead in the final tie-break.
He closed out the match with a thumping forehand down the line, which Tsitsipas could only hit long.
Unleashing a roar, Djokovic pumped his fists and then cried as he hugged his mum.
Djokovic’s 22nd Grand Slam triumph is now matching Rafa Nadal.
It was the ultimate redemption a year on from his sensational deportation from Australia on the eve of the Grand Slam due to his lack of COVID-19 vaccination.
Despite repeatedly saying he bore no grudges over his deportation, Djokovic left none in doubt that the events of last year would be fuel for his success.
He has had plenty of other spurs at this tournament, such as heckling fans and snide comments about the severity of his hamstring injury.
There were also calls for his father, Srdjan, to be barred from Melbourne Park for mixing with Putin supporters bearing banned Russian flags.
“I have to say this has been the most challenging tournament I have played in my life,” Djokovic said as he cradled the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.
“Not playing last year, coming back this year.
“This is probably the biggest victory in my life, considering the circumstances.”
As in the semi-final, there was no Srdjan in the players’ box, but Djokovic had ample support all around the show court.
Where his left thigh had strapping in the semi-final and before, there was only a bit of tape poking out of his shorts-leg.
It was a bad omen for Tsitsipas, who at Roland Garros in 2021 gave up a two-set lead to lose to the Serb.
He had his chances on Sunday, including a set point in the second set, but he could not convert them.
“Novak brings the best out of me, and these are the matches I’ve been working my entire life for,” Tsitsipas said in a gracious runner-up speech.
Facing a man in his 33rd Grand Slam final, Tsitsipas, in his second, was tense.
He double-faulted to drop serve in the fourth game, and in a flash, Djokovic was 4-1 ahead, pumping his fist at the net.
A wide, kicking serve wrapped up the set for the Serb, who marched to his chair contented.
Tsitsipas focused on his serve and found some respite.
He had a small victory when he had Djokovic tumbling on the court in pursuit of a backhand at 3-3.
Djokovic grew frustrated with Tsitsipas’s resilience on serve and began mouthing off at his non-plussed coach Goran Ivanisevic.
He gave up a set point at 5-4 with a backhand error to the delight of Greek fans but saved it with a forehand winner down the line.
The crowd grew unruly as the set went to a chaotic tie-break, with one fan belting out a song during a rally at 4-4.
Tsitsipas cracked, hitting long twice, and Djokovic sealed the set as he did the first, with a wide kicking serve.
With the match slipping from his grasp, Tsitsipas needed a bit of luck.
It came as Djokovic dropped serve with a messy opening game in the third set.
Tsitsipas’s moment had arrived, but it was quickly gone when he missed a forehand with an open court begging.
The Greek barked expletives, and Djokovic pounced, breaking straight back with a patch of brilliant shot-making.
From there, the Serb locked down the match with trademark control before bashing a forehand down the line to bring up three match points in the final tie-break.
He blew one with a backhand, and Tsitsipas saved a second with a huge serve, but Djokovic made no mistake on the third.
With his entourage having changed into T-shirts emblazoned with “10”, Djokovic held the winner’s trophy aloft once more.
This has come 15 years after hoisting it for the first time as a 20-year-old in 2008.
(Reuters/NAN)
Recuperating Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze have been ruled out of Nigeria’s squad to kick off the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Lesotho and Zimbabwe next weekend.
Super Eagles Head Coach, Jose Santos Peseiro, has confirmed the absence of the two key players who suffered hamstring injuries during Nigeria’s international friendlies with Saudi Arabia and Mozambique last month in Portugal.
Although both Osimhen and Chukwueze have resumed training at Napoli and AC Milan respective, the Portuguese gaffer appears to have heeded calls by stakeholders in the country’s football to allow them recover fully on the sideline.
Peseiro told an online news medium TV Play that he was not going to risk the duo in the clashes with Lesotho and Zimbabwe to avoid injuries that may prevent them from representing Nigeria at the AFCON 2023 kicking off in Côte d’Ivoire in January.
“Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimhen will not be called up during the next break. We want to avoid any risks,” Peseiro told TV Play.
“I am very sorry for their injuries, the clubs pay the players and we constantly collaborate with them,” stressed the coach who is sad that both players have not been able to play for their respective clubs after the FIFA window.
Lesotho’s Likuena will take on the Super Eagles on November 16 in Uyo and four days later in Rwanda against Zimbabwe.
Meanwhile, leading newspaper in Lesotho, the Lesotho Times is celebrating the absence of some key players for the Super Eagles. It titled its story “Relief as key Nigerian players are ruled out of Likuena tie.”
“The Super Eagles are battling to overcome these injury concerns as they prepare to face Likuena who are eager to cause an upset at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.
”The Super Eagles are ranked number 40 on the FIFA Coca-Cola world ranking while Likuena are ranked number 153.
”The injury concerns are threatening to disrupt Super Eagles’s coach Jose Peseiro’s hunt for a World Cup ticket after the team missed out on the 2022 World Cup,” the newspaper reported gleefully yesterday.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is expected to announce Peseiro’s squad for the two key matches any moment from today.
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