If the emotion of the celebration did not say it all, the words soon confirmed it. “This is the biggest victory of my life,” Novak Djokovic said, and he wasn’t talking about the numbers. Those were historic: a record-extending 10th Australian Open title, a men’s record-equaling 22nd grand slam, but it was not the pursuit of records that left Djokovic sobbing uncontrollably into his towel and gulping for air by the end.
Djokovic has not played the villain on his return to Australia, a year on from his dramatic deportation ahead of last season’s tournament. He has not needed to, but it was only at the very end that he revealed these have been the hardest four weeks of his life. To add to the pressure, he had to battle a hamstring injury during the early rounds, as well as accusations that he was faking the injury in order to get an edge over his opponents. His father’s brush with pro-Russian demonstrators earlier this week increased the tension, which was beginning to spill out onto the court.
