The Serbian had to save a match point in the second set, before claiming the 92nd trophy of his career and issuing a warning about his chances for the Australian Open, which begins in a week and where he will try to match the record of Rafael Nadal’s Grand Slam victories (22).
Djokovic, at 35, extended his unbeaten record in Australia to 34 matches in a row. He will seek his tenth Australian Grand Slam title, helped by the absence at Melbourne Park of the injured world number one, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
It has been a wonderful week. Being here now is a gift, definitely
“It’s been a wonderful week. Being here now is a gift, definitely,” said the Serb, world number five, who won Adelaide in 2007 early in his career, and missed last year’s Australian Open. , after being deported due to his refusal to be vaccinated against covid. “I gave everything today and also throughout the week to be able to get my hands on this trophy,” he added.
“The support I’ve received in the last ten days has been something I don’t think I’ve experienced many times in my life,” said Djokovic, who has a large following in Australia, a country that also has a large Serb community.
“I definitely felt like I was playing at home,” he explained.
Djokovic overcame a match point down while serving with a 5-6 30/40 run in the second set to win the set in the tie break.
The 22-year-old Korda played in the fifth final of his career and said the experience of the defeat in Adelaide will serve him well for the rest of the season.
“It’s been a great start to the year. I would like to have won today, but now a long season begins and I have taken a lot of positive things from this week,” she said.
“I think we (his team and he) are going to have a great year together,” he said.
Djokovic, who showed no signs of leg problems that had bothered him during his victory over Russian Daniil Medvedev on Saturday, paid tribute to his American rival.
“Great effort today, Seb. I would say that you were probably closer to victory than me. The game was decided by one or two shots, one or two points,” explained the Serb.
“You had bad luck today, but the future looks bright for you,” Djokovic concluded.