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.
Djokovic hoping 'stern' Fritz test is ideal preparation for Sinner showdown
Novak Djokovic expressed his relief at reaching the Shanghai Masters final, saying his win over Taylor Fritz pushed him to his limits on Saturday.
Djokovic kept his hopes alive of claiming a 100th tour-level title with a battling 6-4 7-6 (8-6) triumph over the American after overcoming a hip issue at the end of the second set.
The 37-year-old required a medical timeout in the closing stages of his almost two-hour-long battle but returned to the court to reach his fifth showpiece match in Shanghai.
In doing so, Djokovic surpassed Andy Murray (four) for the outright most finals reached at the event, while also extending his unbeaten run against Fritz to 10 matches.
But the 24-time grand slam champion acknowledged the challenges he faced against Fritz, who threatened to take the encounter the distance.
"It always takes it out of me, these kinds of battles, but particularly towards the end of the tournament," said Djokovic.
"At this stage of my career, I’m doing my best to recover, and I had some issues here and there on the court, physically, yesterday and today. But I managed to overcome it.
"It was a stern test. Taylor is in form, playing probably the best tennis of his life coming off a grand slam final, and he's playing really well, particularly on this surface.
"He's serving big, so I knew it was going to be a big test for me. I did not want to get to a third set, and I'm just glad to overcome in two.”
The Serbian's victory set up a meeting with world number one Jannik Sinner, who beat Tomas Machac 6-4 7-5 in the other semi-final.
It will be the pair's first meeting since their final four clash at the Australian Open earlier this year, a contest Sinner would go on to win his maiden grand slam title.
But having performed well at his first tournament since his US Open exit, Djokovic is hoping to join Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer in the 100 club against a player he described as "the best in the world."
"I came to Shanghai after five years of not playing in China, the place where I've always had great success, both in Shanghai and Beijing," said Djokovic.
"[I've won] many titles, had great battles and great performances. I’ve said it many times, the support that I get here is tremendous, and I'm very grateful.
"That creates an energy that keeps me going, keeps me running, so I did come here definitely with a vision and a desire to get to the final and fight for a 100th title.
"I get that chance against the best player in the world, and let's see what happens."
Zheng sets up Sabalenka meeting after reaching first WTA 1000 final in Wuhan
Zheng Qinwen is through to the Wuhan Open final after a straight-sets win over Wang Xinyu.
In a historic, first-ever all-Chinese semi-final at a WTA 1000 event, Zheng reached her first such final, prevailing 6-3 6-4.
There was little to separate the two in the opening exchanges – just as Zheng edged in front with the first break in the fourth game, Wang responded, levelling the scores back at 3-3.
However, Zheng rallied, successfully defending a break point on her way to winning the last three games in a row to take the first set.
Wang faced 12 break points throughout the match, but failed to defend one in the second-set opener, before protecting three as she took a 2-1 lead.
Despite her fight, the Olympic gold medallist dug deep once more, getting two back-to-back breaks in order to clinch clinching the match.
She will face Aryna Sabalenka, who has never lost a match in Wuhan, in the final on Sunday.
Data Debrief: Home favourite
It has been a banner year for Zheng, who is also still in with a chance of qualifying for the WTA finals. Including the Olympics, she has reached the final of four events during 2024, the most she has managed during a single season.
Only Qiang Wang and Shuai Peng (four each) have made more WTA level finals on Chinese soil than Zheng (three, Zhengzhou and Zhuhai in 2023 and Wuhan in 2024) among Chinese players in the Open Era.
In fact, Zheng is just the second Chinese player to reach the final of a WTA 1000 event since the introduction of the format in 2009, after Li Na.
Djokovic overcomes injury scare to set up Sinner final in Shanghai
Novak Djokovic is just one game away from securing a 100th Tour-level title after reaching the Shanghai Masters final with a straight-sets triumph over Taylor Fritz.
Djokovic needed a medical timeout deep into the second set, but was able to hold on to secure a 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory to set up an encounter with Jannik Sinner in the final.
The Serbian missed three break points in the opening game, but was able to get his nose in front in the fifth game after breaking the American's serve.
Djokovic held his serve for the remainder to gain the early advantage, moving within touching distance of a record-extending 59th Masters 1000 final and his first of 2024.
But Fritz responded well in the second set, despite Djokovic producing some stunning tennis that included a brilliant backhand winner in the fifth game which drew applause from his American opponent.
The pair continued to trade blows, with a tie-break deciding whether the game would go the distance or Djokovic would reach a record fifth final in Shanghai.
And Djokovic held his nerve, fighting back from 5-3 down to seal his progression to Sunday's showpiece, becoming the 13th different ATP Masters 1000 finalist so far this year.
Data Debrief: Djokovic one away from history
With a fifth final at the Shanghai Masters, surpassing Andy Murray (four) for the outright most at the event, Djokovic has now reached five or more finals at each of the current ATP Masters 1000 events on hard court.
Fritz is now the sixth opponent Djokovic has defeated in each of their opening 10 head-to-head meetings at ATP level, along with Andreas Seppi, Gael Monfils, Jeremy Chardy, Marin Cilic and Milos Raonic.
Only Jimmy Connors (164), Roger Federer (157) and Ivan Lendl (146) in the Open Era have reached more ATP event finals than the Serbian (141).
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