Djokovic beats Korda in hard fought final for Adelaide title

Prior to this month’s Australian Open, Novak Djokovic fought valiantly to defeat Sebastian Korda in the Adelaide International 1 final on Sunday, winning 6-7(8) 7-6(3) 6-4.

A day after dominating Daniil Medvedev in the semi-final despite suffering a hamstring strain, Djokovic moved freely on the court but was hard-pressed by Korda until the Serb made a late charge to deny his opponent a victory that could have potentially changed the course of his career.

“I hope you enjoyed the show tonight (Sunday),” Djokovic said. “I want to say a few words to Seb and his team. Amazing tournament, amazing effort today. I’ll probably say that you were closer to the victory today than I was.

“The future is bright for you so just keep going.”

The world number five was undone in the tiebreak as the American withstood the strain to convert his seventh set chance. Korda broke for a 5-4 lead in the dramatic first set, and was 40-0 up on serve when Djokovic hit back to level the match.

Before the second set, when he uncharacteristically labored with his returns and let Korda control the rallies, a furious Djokovic shouted at and expelled two members of his entourage from their courtside seats.

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