Melbourne - Novak Djokovic fought off the first stages of cramping to lift his first major title with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) comeback over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Australian Open final on Sunday. The third seed who beat three-time champion and world number one Roger Federer in semi-final straight sets had to deal with physical and mental challenges to secure the triumph in just over three hours.
Tsonga, who began the event ranked 38th and played out of his skin to hammer Rafael Nadal in the semis, was unable to capitalize on his first time on the world stage.
Djokovic dropped to the court in victory after winning the tiebreaker to ice the win, running to greet his family in the players' box and then tossing his racket gratefully into a crowd which had on the whole given their support to his opponent.
"I'm very, very happy to win my first Grand Slam here," Djokovic told the stadium fans. "Hopefully I'll see you here on this stage more often in the future.
A tiring Djokovic lifted the trophy with the loss of only one set during the fortnight, as tournament sensation Tsonga got off to a fast start by winning the first.
Djokovic extended his current winning streak to 11 matches after becoming the youngest player to complete a boxed set of four consecutive Grand Slam semi-final appearances.
Djokovic will remain on his current third ranking behind number one Federer and number two Nadal. He became the first winner of a Grand Slam since Australia 2005 not named Federer or Nadal.
Tsonga's 600,000-dollar payday doubled his career earnings, with the player on the rise playing the Grand Slam final in only his fifth major.
"I play better tennis than I speak English," joked the player from Le Mans. "I want to thank my family and my team.
"For me, this was a good moment, thanks Novak for a good fight."
Djokovic fired 11 aces, 46 winners and broke on four of a dozen occasions.
Tsonga came out with no fear against the more experienced younger man, recovering immediately with a break-back after dropping serve in the opening game.
The Frenchman, his parents watching after arriving in Melbourne only hours before the match, forced Djokovic to save break points in the fourth game while staying steady on his own serve.
But the tide of the first set turned in a flash, with Tsonga putting the Serb into 0-30 trouble in the tenth game.
The 22-year-old challenger managed to score a winning pass off a Djokovic framed overhead to yield a set point. The Frenchman clinched the opening in spectacular style after 49 minutes as he landed a lob before falling to his knees with a fist pump.
It was the first set lost for Djokovic during the fortnight.
With the crowd overwhelmingly favouring the inexperienced Frenchman, the pressure fell heavily on third-seed Djokovic, who salvaged another two break points in the fourth game for 2-all.
The Serb produced a love game in the sixth and found the break the was seeking a game later as Tsonga put a return wide down the line to trail 3-4.
Djokovic put the contest back on level terms with an ace three games later on the first of three set points as the 15,000-capacity crowd turned decidedly against him in favour of the French outsider.
The Serb stepped up the tempo in the third set, breaking for 2-1 after Tsonga saved two earlier chances. The fired-up Djokovic then sealed 3-1 with his ninth ace.
Tsonga rallied to deny Djokovic the set on his first six chances but finally fell with a cross-court volley into the net as the Frenchman was broken for the third time of the evening.
The fourth set stayed on serve as Djokovic tried to wrap up the biggest win of his career. Tsonga signalled his intention of not going away as he fired an ace to end a love fourth game, 2-2.
With Djokovic showing the first signs of possible light cramping, the Serbian seed appeared to have his troubles in breathing. But he got out of jail after errors on two game points to hold for a laboured 3-2 after more than two and a half hours on court.
The Serb took treatment on his left thigh during an injury timeout before Tsonga came back out to make it 3-3 with two straight aces.
Djokovic reached 5-4 as he willed himself through a quick love game and had to brilliantly save a break point in the 11th, reflexing a volley winner cross-court before holding for a tense 6-5.
The Serb streaked through the fourth-set tiebreaker winning from a Tsonga error on the first of four match points.
