Serbia's Novak Djokovic kisses the trophy after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France in the final of the men's singles at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, Australia, yesterday. - AP

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)

Novak Djokovic took the expected barrage from Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first set, then gave back some of his own and made the Australian Open his first Grand Slam title.

No. 3-ranked Djokovic fended off Muhammad Ali lookalike Tsonga 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (2) in the final yesterday, ending a sequence of 11 straight majors won by either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal since Marat Safin's triumph here in 2005.

The 20-year-old Djokovic had not lost a set in six matches leading into the final, including his semi-final win over two-time defending champion Federer.

But with unseeded Tsonga coming out swinging like he did in his straight-sets upset over No. 2 Nadal in the semi-finals and three other top 14 players, that streak came to a sudden end.

Rebounded

The 20-year-old Djokovic rebounded in the second and third sets and after saving a crucial breakpoint in the fourth, dominated the tiebreaker to clinch his first major at his 13th attempt.

"You feel the expectations and pressure, so I'm very happy with the way I dealt with the pressure," Djokovic said. "Coming on against a player with nothing to lose - he was going for the shots and he was very dangerous, especially in the first set - I was pretty nervous."

Djokovic was the youngest player since Stefan Edberg defeated Mats Wilander in 1985 to win the Australian title and the first man from Serbia to win a major.

Tsonga, who had been so aggressive earlier in the tournament, seemed more content to rally from the baseline, especially after getting passed several times.

"... I was trying to stay with him because I knew sooner or later, with my style of game, I could get in control of the match, which I did in the middle of the second set," Djokovic said.

"I'm very, very happy that I won my first Grand Slam here, so hopefully we'll see you here on this stage a lot more often in the future."

Proud of himself

Tsonga said he was proud of himself.

"I don't know if I have to be sad or happy of this final, but I feel great," Tsonga said. "I'm happy for Novak because he played unbelievable today.''

Tsonga, ranked 38th coming into his fifth major, will move up to No. 18 after advancing past the fourth round for the first time. He was aiming to be the first Frenchman in 80 years to win the Australian title and the first to win any of the four Grand Slams since Yannick Noah's win at Roland Garros in 1983.

Tsonga says he now believes he has the game to break into the top 10.

"Not everybody can beat players who I beat," he said. "It's very difficult and I did it, so of course, I'm confident now."