Nine-time champion Novak Djokovic and World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas will square off in the men’s singles final of the ongoing Australian Open on Sunday at the Rod Laver Arena.
In a dominant performance earlier today, Djokovic got the better of unseeded American Tommy Paul, winning 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 in straight sets.
The world No. 5 overcame a scare in the first set after Paul came back from 5-1 down to tie the game at 5-5, following a dispute with French umpire Damien Dumusois after the official started the 25-second shot clock while he was still using his towel, but the experienced Serb weathered the storm to come out on top in the set.
The second and third sets were almost like a walk in the park for the 21-time Grand Slam champion as he steamrolled the 25-year-old, who was playing in his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal.
His dominance was evident throughout the tie, as he finished with twelve aces, won 19 games, and took seven break points.
Djokovic set a new record of 27 consecutive wins in the men’s singles and will hope to come out victorious for his 10th Australian Open title, in his bid to tie Rafael Nadal’s tally of 22 major men’s titles.
The 35-year-old revealed he was grateful for the crowd reactions, as their energy kept him going.
“It means everything. It means everything, especially at this stage of my career. I need that engine; I need that energy, and I’m really thankful that I still have enough gas in my legs to be able to play at this level on one of the biggest tennis courts in the world,” he said.
On facing Tsitsipas in the final, the Serb said, “Stafanos, see you in two days. Look, of course, you’re not as fresh as at the beginning of the tournament, that’s for sure. But we put in a lot of hours throughout the offseason weeks in our fitness and on the tennis court in order to be in a good enough condition to play the best of five sets, and I know what’s expected of me.
“I’ve been in this situation so many times before in my career, and I think experience helps, too, but obviously, on the course, moment to moment, point to point, it’s a great battle first of all with yourself and then the opponent. So, I’m just really pleased to get through to another final,” he concluded.
#AusOpen semifinals: ✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️✔️#AusOpen finals: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆❓
Will X mark the spot for @DjokerNole on Sunday?@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AO2023 pic.twitter.com/lcx6Wnm3dT
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2023
In his own semifinal match, high-flying Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas defeated 18th seed Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7-2), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-3.
In a game of many aces, the 24-year-old overpowered the Russian by 18 to 10, won 51 receiving points, and took five of 12 break points.
The victory over Khachanov meant the 2021 French Open finalist became the ninth active male tennis player to reach multiple Grand Slam finals (two).
After the game, the Greek phenom revealed he was stoked to be appearing in his first-ever final in Melbourne.
“I feel blessed. I feel blessed that I am able to play tennis at this level. I have been wanting for many years now to put Greek tennis on the map, and me and Marcos (Baghdatis) have done an incredible job, I think. Coming from a small country like Greece, I am so grateful that I get support like this, and I am extremely happy that I am in the final now; let’s see what happens,” Tsitsipas said after the semifinal.
A sizzling semifinal ends in Greek glory 🇬🇷 @steftsitsipas overcomes a valiant Karen Khachanov to reach his first #AusOpen final.
It ends 7-6(2) 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 👏#AO2023 pic.twitter.com/jsik2uaovL
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 27, 2023
Djokovic and Tsitsipas both have the opportunity to overthrow Carlos Alcaraz and become the world’s number one after the final, with 2000 points up for grabs when they both face off on the hard surface at the Rod Laver Arena.
