It wasn't another five-set capitulation but the result was the same, with Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas enduring another grand slam failure at the hands of Novak Djokovic.
The 24-year-old's long wait to win his first major continued after Djokovic stormed to his 10th Australian Open crown, taking Sunday night's title decider 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-5).
As well as a grand slam trophy Tsitsipas missed the opportunity to move to world No.1 in the rankings, with the Serbian superstar also regaining that honour with the victory.
It was Tsitsipas's first final in Melbourne and second at a major after he was famously beaten by Djokovic in the 2021 French Open after winning the first two sets.
Adding to his reputation of faltering when it matters most, he's also a four-time grand slam semi-final loser.
Pre-match, the world No.4 insisted he wasn't haunted by the Roland Garros collapse, but Tsitsipas started nervously.
Unable to match the 22-time grand slam champion from the back of the court, he gave up the first set in 36 minutes.
Mixing up his game and unsettling Djokovic with his serve, Tsitsipas worked his way into the match and had a set point in the second.
However his bursts of brilliance were tempered by Djokovic's dogged pursuit of another Open victory, with the veteran prevailing in a tiebreak.
Tsitsipas broke early in the third to tease of a fightback and threw everything at Djokovic to again force a tiebreak, but the 35-year-old had all of the answers.
"It's not easy. Another final at a grand slam, but I'm always willing to go back on court and work harder," said a shattered Tsitsipas, who has lost his last 10 matches against Djokovic.
Accepting the runners-up trophy from four-time former Australian Open champion Ken Rosewall, Tsitsipas paid tribute to the champion and said Djokovic was the best player of all-time.
"I've had the privilege to play a lot of difficult, high-intensity matches but I would like to say one more time Novak brings the best out in me," he said.
"He's the one of the greatest in our sport and I think - he's the greatest that has ever held a tennis racquet for sure."
Then to Djokovic, he added: "I'd like to thank you for pushing our sport, every single player, every single individual that's involved in the sport to the max."
Djokovic conceded that Tsitsipas was the better player in the second set, and was relieved he didn't have to go the distance as he did in Paris.
He predicted that Tsitsipas would be a grand slam champion before long.
"He's knocking on the door of grand slam title and I told him that he is going to win it, it's just a matter of time," Djokovic said.
"I know that Rafa (Rafael Nadal) and myself will make sure that the young guys don't take too many slams for a little while, but it's inevitable."
