When Novak Djokovic defeated unseeded American Sebastian Korda 6-7 (8), 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Sunday to win the Adelaide International. He did not appear to be suffering from an injury that could have prevented him from competing in the Australian Open.
When Novak Djokovic defeated unseeded American Sebastian Korda 6-7 (8), 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Sunday to win the Adelaide International.
He did not appear to be suffering from an injury that could have prevented him from competing in the Australian Open.
When Djokovic said that he had been having problems with a tight hamstring following his semifinal match against Daniil Medvedev in Adelaide, the organizers of the Open were concerned. He said the injury got better as the game went on.
In Sunday’s marathon final, which lasted more than three hours and ended with Djokovic winning his 92nd career singles title, any lingering issues likely would have come to light.
Additionally, 16 years after winning his first, he won his second Adelaide title. At the age of 19, he won the tournament in 2007.
Djokovic was severely strained by the 22-year-old Korda. The son of 1998 Australian Open champion Petr Korda, and had to save a match point and a championship point at 5-6 in the second set on Sunday.
A few points determined the outcome of the match. In the final set, Djokovic held serve to love in his first four service games. He held serve in his fifth service game after Korda took him to deuce.
In Korda’s subsequent service game, Djokovic rallied from 15-40 down at 5-4 to win four points in a row and win the set in 51 minutes and the match in 3 hours, and 9 minutes.
Djokovic stated, “I hope everyone enjoyed the show tonight. It’s been an amazing week.” Seb’s had a fantastic tournament and performed admirably today.
“At times today, I think he was closer to victory than I was. There were only a few shots and a few points.
Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic’s coach, supported him from the courtside box at times. Djokovic sometimes argued with himself after a point was lost.
I’d like to express my gratitude to my team for handling and accepting me throughout today’s good and bad times. They probably didn’t have as much fun with me going back and forth with them, but I’m glad they’re here.
At the beginning of the first set, his serve was consistent. He didn’t lose a point on the first serve until Korda broke him to make it 5-4. Djokovic responded immediately and advanced the set to a tiebreaker.
Djokovic saved all five set points Korda had to take an early lead and level the tiebreaker at 6-6. Djokovic framed a forehand that hit the crowd, giving Korda another advantage and allowing the American to win the tiebreaker 10-8.
At 5-6 on serve in the second set, Djokovic saved a match point and forced a tiebreaker, which he won comfortably. Korda challenged Djokovic at times with the kick of his serve and produced some outstanding service games.
However, in the tenth game of the deciding set with only a few points separating the two sets, he was broken for the second time in the match.
In the women’s final, second-seeded Aryna Sabalenka defeated qualifier Linda Noskova 6-2, 7-6 (4) to win her 11th WTA Tour singles title and first in nearly two years.
She ended an extraordinary run by the 18-year-old Noskova. Who advanced to her first final by defeating third-seeded Daria Kasatkina and former Australian Open champion Viktoria Asarenka in the main draw.
When Sabalenka won the first set on Sunday. She appeared to be on track for another easy victory as she didn’t drop a set all week. But in the second set, Noskova was much more competitive.
Holding Sabalenka’s serve and putting pressure on her serve, especially with her powerful backhand returns. Sabalenka stated, “I think I’m a different player right now.”
Possibly a little bit smarter and more composed in court. Everything changed a little bit. “I would like to congratulate (Noskova) on a great week. I believe you will excel in the future and participate in many more finals.
Sabalenka won her last single title in Madrid in May 2021. But despite reaching three finals, she didn’t win a title in 2022. She qualified for the season-ending WTA Finals in Fort Worth.
Where she lost to Caroline Garcia in the final and finished the year ranked fifth. After winning Shenzen in 2019 and Abu Dhabi in 2021. Sabalenka has now won three tournaments in the first week of a season.