Novak Djokovic is back on Australian shores and he's here for one thing.
It's not to apologise for the saga that dominated last summer's headlines — or as he says, put the past behind him — it's one word and that's what it has always been for the Serbian great: history.
Djokovic craves it, he needs it and he desires it most.
He's been bullish about stating that, more so than his two greatest rivals and fellow future Hall of Famers Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer ever have.
He said it in 2021, loudly and clearly.
"Throughout my career, I have always been honest enough to say that the history of our sport is too big a motivation. It is an objective, yes, to prove that I can break all the records with all the results that I can obtain on the tour professionally," Djokovic said.
There's nothing wrong with that, but with a year largely spent on the sidelines in 2022 as he held to his own principles on health and COVID, it was potentially professionally to his own detriment.
Absent in Australia after his border bungle which featured miscommunication, incorrect documents, a court hearing and a battle with the Morrison government, Djokovic was eventually deported as Nadal rose like a racquet-wielding Lazarus to claim the Australian Open in an epic comeback victory over a crestfallen Daniil Medvedev in the final.
It was Nadal's first non-Roland Garros grand slam title since the 2019 US Open and when the King of Clay reigned for the 14th time in Paris after dispatching Djokovic in the quarters his lead over Djokovic when it came to slam titles was two.
Djokovic took Wimbledon with a final victory over Nick Kyrgios to narrow the gap to one as he claimed his 21st slam title, but while the final was Djokovic at his finest, the tournament was not one of dominance like tennis fans had seen in the past.
And neither was Djokovic's 2022.
His seventh title at The Championships was the banner moment, as was the end of season victory in Turin, but the rest of the year saw something different from Djokovic.
It was vulnerability.
It started when he took on the Australian government and lost, and it was punctuated throughout the year with losses to a series of players aged 24 and under (at the time), as the likes of Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev, Jannik Sinner and the youngest men's world number one in history, Carlos Alcaraz, showed they were anything but afraid of him.
It's this generation of players that truly threatens to take away the stranglehold Djokovic has had at the Australian Open, where he has an astonishing win percentage of 91 per cent and a career record of 82-8 in singles, having not tasted defeat since being stunned in the 2018 fourth round at the hands of then 21-year-old South Korean Hyeon Chung.
In 2023 Alcaraz, having capped a historic 2022 with his first major title at the US Open, presented as the big danger, but a leg injury saw him pull out of the event Djokovic has made his own throughout his career.
Alcaraz will be fine though — he's just released a Calvin Klein campaign — and while the Spaniard being out is a bonus for Djokovic, plenty of other dangers loom after a cushy first few rounds of a draw that won't get really tough until a likely quarter final against either Rune, Rublev or Kyrgios.
The kids are alright
Those dangers are primarily what the ATP likes to refer to as Next Gen players, and they are the ones that gave Djokovic the most trouble last year.
Losses to then 28-year-old Czech Jiri Vesely in Dubai and 35-year-old Nadal at Roland Garros were outliers against his other tournament exits in 2022.
Five of his seven losses in 42 matches last year came to players aged 24 and under at the time.
Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (22) beat Djokovic in Monaco, before losing the final. Rublev (24) rolled him in the final in the Serb's hometown of Belgrade before Alcaraz (18) got Djokovic in the Madrid semifinals.
Wins over next-genners Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud followed on Djokovic's run to the Rome title and he beat Sinner at Wimbledon, but had to fight back from two sets to love down to defeat the then 20-year-old Italian on his way to the title.
His other two late season losses came to Auger-Aliassime (22) at the Laver Cup and Rune (19) in the Paris Masters final.
None of those though were at any of the slams and none of the current rising stars have beaten Djokovic at one.
Sinner came the closest but he blinked when it mattered, and Medvedev is the only man under 30 to have beaten Djokovic in a best of five sets match.
Still the rise of the youngsters has been prominent and the ATP rankings reflect that finally the youngsters seem ready to take over.
Alcaraz becoming the sport's youngest number one was the cherry on top of the sundae but as of now seven of the ATP's top 10 are 25 or under, as are 12 of the top 20.
Compare that to previous years and that represents a significant shift, and one that Djokovic and Nadal also need to take note of.
In 2018, 15 of the top 20 players were over 25, and that dropped to 13 players in 2019, 2020 and 2021.
But as the rankings stood at the end of 2022, 11 of the top 20 players in the world were aged under 25.
Right now, only four players are over 30 — and Djokovic is one of them.
If you needed further proof of just how good the youngsters on the ATP Tour are, they may have only won one grand slam title between them but they dominated ATP Masters 1000 titles, with six of the eight events going to players aged 25 or younger.
Only Djokovic in Rome and Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta in Canada were able to lift those titles as more senior tour members.
Adelaide put his weaknesses on display
Sensing a pattern? It's there.
And it was on full display in Adelaide as Djokovic claimed the title but not before he was down championship point against 22-year-old Sebastian Korda in the final.
Wins over 23-year-old Canadian Denis Shapovalov and 26-year-old Medvedev came relatively easy but against Korda, Djokovic was on the rack and narrowly escaped, taking the match 6-4 in the third.
Korda took it to Djokovic as big first serves rained down for 15 aces, mostly down the middle.
In fact when Korda went down the middle he exposed Djokovic.
Eleven of Korda's 15 aces were down the T and he won 81 per cent of points on his first serve when he went there, compared to 74 per cent out wide.
The second ball to the second court down the T was also highly effective. Every time Korda went there he won all nine points, 43 per cent when he went wide.
It's a surprise serve in tennis to attack the forehand, especially that of Djokovic, but it may well have shown the Serbian was not moving at his best and sitting in the corner to protect his left hamstring.
Djokovic also seemed to be trying to emulate Medvedev at times, standing deeper than the Adelaide sign at the back of the Memorial Drive courts as he made some uncharacteristic return of serve errors.
What was evident was that even though Djokovic won the title with his 23rd victory in his last 24 tour matches, nerves got the better of Korda, who even Djokovic thought may have deserved victory.
"I'd probably say that you were closer to victory today than I was," Djokovic told Korda.
"It was decided in one or two shots, one or two points, tough luck today but the future is bright for you."
Hero or villain in Melbourne?
It's somewhat of an admission from Djokovic who had a raucous support crew in Adelaide as Serbian-flag carrying fans rallied behind him.
Whether that translates to Melbourne, the city subjected to some of the world's longest COVID lockdowns, is a concern for Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley, who told the Herald Sun that officials would be on red alert for fans who take aim at Djokovic.
“If they disrupt the enjoyment of anyone else – boom, they are out,’’ he said.
“We don’t want them on site.
“They can stay away or we will kick them out.’’
Djokovic has said he was willing to forgive but not forget his 2022 battle with Australia, but the potential for some fans to be against the polarising star is real after he claimed he was unfairly vilified.
"I was just following the rules. My exemption was verified by an independent body and panel of doctors," Djokovic told the Nine Network on Wednesday.
"I came in with all the valid papers. Everything got out of hand and then I was labelled this or that."
That statement came despite a 2022 admission that he had incorrectly filled out an immigration form.
Asked if he understood why some were angry, he blamed the media presentation of his case.
"I understood why they [people] were frustrated but again I have to say that the media presented it in a completely wrong way," he said.
It's an interesting view and one that may not be well received.
Age and that hammy
But if all that doesn't convince you winning the tournament for a 10th time is not a fait accompli for Djokovic, he's now coming into the Open under an injury cloud.
And while history says Djokovic injuries can be taken with a grain of salt — see the abdominal injury against Taylor Fritz in the 2021 Australian Open third round and his stumbles against Andy Murray in the 2015 final — this one for now seems a problem.
Djokovic sustained it in the Adelaide semifinal against Medvedev, clutching at his left hamstring as he executed a trademark slide early in the first set.
Medvedev mocked the Serbian great at the time, but when the pair practised at Melbourne Park on Wednesday, Djokovic pulled out after one set and received medical treatment.
He was then seen wearing tape on it when he played an exhibition with Kyrgios on Friday night but seemed to be moving well.
But a look at those of his age who have recently fallen by the wayside is a reminder that father time is a real killer when it comes to major success.
Roger Federer is retired, Stan Wawrinka is but a shadow of his former self, Andy Murray has a heap of metal in his hip, and Nadal is repeatedly fighting foot and knee problems.
Historically, too, very few players have been able to win major titles post their 30th birthday, let alone their 35th.
Should Djokovic win in Melbourne this month, he would be the seventh-oldest player to win a slam in the Open era at 35 years, 8 months and 7 days, eclipsing Nadal who lifted the title last year at 35 years, 7 months and 14 days.
Nadal would be even older.
The oldest man to win a slam in the Open era is Ken Rosewall. The Aussie affectionately dubbed 'Muscles' won his home slam in 1972 at the age of 37 years, one month and 24 days.
Federer is the only other man to have lifted a slam title after his 36th birthday, here in 2018.
But the good news for Djokovic is the big three have been bucking the age trend for years.
It used to be that 30 was the big barrier.
Before they and Wawrinka came along, only nine men had won slams past the age of 30 for 16 titles; now men in their 30s have lifted 39 grand slam titles.
Could Djokovic be the 40th? Absolutely.
He is after all one of tennis's all-time greats, but at this Australian Open the challenges are set to come more often than they ever have before.
Champions overcome and Djokovic is still one.
The Australian Open begins on Monday, January 16 and the ABC will be providing extensive coverage on radio and online.
