World number three Novak Djokovic has dramatically won his first grand slam title, surviving a leg injury to beat unseeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 in the Australian Open final.
Djokovic is the first Serbian to win a major.
Tsonga took the first set 6-4, stunning the Serbian with two spectacular winners to break Djokovic’s serve at 4-5.
Djokovic was in danger of slipping further behind, struggling to hold serve at 1-2 in the second set. However the more experienced of the two held serve, forcing a break in the seventh game. The break appeared to be a blow for Tsonga, whose body language changed noticeably. Djokovic held serve to love in the tenth game to tie the match at one-set apiece.
Djokovic began to assert his authority in the third, looking more comfortable on serve and peeling winners with regularity. An early break had Tsonga’s shoulders slumping further. Facing intense pressure when serving at 3-5, Tsonga shanked a volley into the net on set point to fall behind two sets to one.
The match took a fascinating turn early in the fourth set, when Djokovic began to favour his left leg. He received a massage on his thigh and hamstring at 3-2.
Suddenly Tsonga didn’t look so tired.
Both players battled on their serve, however there were no breaks and the set went into a tiebreaker.
Tsonga suffered a fit of nerves in the breaker, losing three out of the first four points with shots into the net. A Tsonga double fault at 1-4 gave the Serbian an almost impregnable lead. Djokovic created four championship points, needing just one, as Tsonga sprayed a forehand wide. Djokovic’s reaction was filled with relief as much as joy.
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