Novak Djokovic won the 92nd ATP title, strengthens his position as the favorite of the Australian Open

Novak Djokovic had won 33 matches in a row in Australia, but found himself on the ropes and dropped a match point against American Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International final.

The 35-year-old Serbian saved a match point in the second set at 5-6 to beat Korda 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 6-4 to win his 92nd ATP title. .

I’ll probably say you were closer to winning today than I was, Djokovic told Korda on court. It was decided by one or two shots, one or two points today, but the future is bright for you, so just keep going and you will be a great player.

Djokovic tied his longtime rival Rafael Nadal for fourth on the all-time championship list. Only Jimmy Connors (109), recently retired Roger Federer (103) and Ivan Lendl (94) are behind the duo.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion would have been the Australian Open favorite even if he had lost to Korda, but the win cements his position as the leader of the pack. He has won the Australian Open nine times and three in a row before he was kicked out against last years fortnight because he was not vaccinated against the Covid-19 virus.

Currently ranked No. 5 in the world, Djokovic is one of three men who could leave Australia at No. 1, along with No. 3 Casper Ruud and No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas. Djokovic and Tsitsipas must win the title to claim the honor, while Ruud must reach the final if the other two do not.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz will not be able to play in the Australian Open due to an injury to his right leg.

Djokovic earned match point when Korda, 22, smashed a header into the net. At match point, the American sailed through a forehand, giving Djokovic his 34th straight win Down Under.

Today was a great match and I am very grateful to you and your team and I hope I have many more fights, Korda said on the court.

Korda looked the more aggressive and effortless player for most of the first two sets, while Djokovic often appeared defensive and frustrated, often shouting at his coach Goran Ivanisevic and others in his box, including his brother Marko.

I want to thank my team for handling me, putting up with me today in good times and bad times, Djokovic admitted. I’m sure they didn’t have as much fun going back and forth with them, but I appreciate them being here with me.

Perhaps Korda was inspired by the comments Djokovic made coming into the match, in which he mentioned several other young players as the future of the game, including Alcaraz, Denmark’s Holger Rune, who beat Djokovic in the Paris Indoor final, Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti.

What Alcaraz has done last season has been very impressive and historic for our sport, so he certainly deserves credit,” Djokovic told the media in Adelaide. “He’s No. 1 in the world. There’s no higher peak than that, and he’s already won a Slam, and he’s still so young.

I think we’re going to see a lot of Alcaraz and Rune in the future,” Djokovic added. Then Felix, I think he’s probably had the tennis of his life in the last five, six months.

Maybe because of Rune and Alcaraz, maybe people don’t talk about Felix as much because he’s been around a little longer, but I think he deserves to be in the conversation with those guys and Musetti as well. , you mentioned, someone who puts their game together, I think will gain more confidence and improve.”

Djokovic didn’t mention Korda, but he certainly got a warning that he could be a force at the Australian Open.