Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas the least watched men's Australian Open final of the last decade, US TV rankings plunge

Novak Djokovic's dominant display at this year's Australian Open was not enough to pull US viewers to watch the final this year. The final clash between Djokovic and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas had the lowest viewership in the US for a men's Australian Open final in the last 10 years.

Sports news correspondent James Gray shared the ESPN TV ratings of the event, which showed that the match was the least watched men's final at the Melbourne Major in 10 years.

This year's men's final saw 439,000 viewers, which was 36% lesser than the final between Rafael Nadal and Daniil Medvedev at last year's Australian Open, which was viewed by 689,000 people.

Gray tried to decipher the reason for the low numbers, stating that ESPN showcases tennis on their online platform and not their main channel, which could explain the low viewership.

"A big ooft for tennis as the US TV ratings for the Australian Open final appear to show a 10-year low for the men's final. ESPN stuck a lot of the tennis on their online platform and not main channels. Did they do it for the men's final? If so, understandable numbers. If not...," he tweeted.

Another Twitter user chimed in stating that the time difference could have been a deciding factor.

"Men's finals starts at 12:30 a.m PST and 3:30 a.m EST. After two full weeks of all night riveting tennis and another highly likely Djokovic dismantling, its no small wonder more than a few American peeps caught up on some sleep," the tweet read.

Though Gray agreed, he believes that a 10 year low rating is not a good sign.

Yeah I agree to an extent but that's why it's important to compare with previous viewing figures. At least a 10-year low is bad," he said.

The same user stated that Djokovic does not pull in the same viewership as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal or Serena Williams.

Another user rightly pointed out that the match timing was the same as last year's final, both beginning at 3:30am ET, which did not affect the ratings considering Nadal's win over Medvedev went on till 10:00am ET.

One twitter account also noted out that if the match had lasted longer, it would have gone on until morning in the USA, which would have led people to watch the remainder of the match after they had woken up. Considering Djokovic's straight-sets win, the match started and ended in the wee hours in the USA.

A quick look at Novak Djokovic's career defining moments

2023 Australian Open champion, Novak Djokovic

The World No. 1 broke into the tennis scene in 2003. At 20 years of age, he ended Nadal and Federer's winning streak at the Majors by winning his first Grand Slam at the 2008 Australian Open, where he defeated French player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the finals.

His most dominating year came in 2011. He won the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the US Open and snagged the World No. 1 ranking in July of the same year.

Another remarkable year came in 2015, when he won the Australian Open for the fifth time, Wimbledon for the third time and the US Open for the second time.

The 35-year-old won the French Open for the first time in 2016 and again in 2021. Djokovic has now won a total of 22 Grand Slam singles titles, tied with Nadal for the most men's singles titles.

Currently ranked as the top player by the ATP, the Serb has stayed at the top for a cumulative 374 weeks. Djokovic has won a total of 93 singles titles on the ATP tour.