(Melbourne) Novak Djokovic, 5e world, will face Sunday Stefanos Tsitsipas (4e) in the Australian Open final, where he will aim for a 22e Grand Slam title to equal Rafael Nadal’s record.
The winner of this final will dislodge another Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz, from the place of world No.1.
“I won the last (final played against Tsitsipas, at Roland-Garros in 2021, editor’s note) so I keep some positives! But I was down two sets to zero,” recalled the 35-year-old Serb.
“Since then, Stefanos has progressed. So, may the best win! “, added Djokovic a few minutes after having dominated, Friday in the semi-finals, and despite a left thigh still largely bandaged, the American Tommy Paul (35e) 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.
“At the end of the first set, I managed to keep my composure (when Paul came back from 5-1 to 5-5, editor’s note) and that was key. Then I let go of my shots better,” Djokovic analyzed.
Without mentioning his thigh, he launched to be “110%” regarding his energy level. A quickly stale joke: “obviously, I’m not as fresh as at the start, but I worked a lot on my physique in the off-season”, he underlined.
In addition, “I know what it’s like to play in five sets, I have experience of it”, recalled the man with 21 Grand Slam titles who will aim for a 10 on Sunday.e victory in Melbourne in as many finals.
On Friday, Djokovic escaped quickly in the first set, largely dominating and leading 5-1. But he committed too many unforced errors (24 in the first set alone when he had committed 21 in his previous match against Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals) and allowed Paul to recover to 5-5 before resume and win the next two games to complete the round.
In the second set, at 2-0 and advantage on his serve for his opponent, he showed the first signs of discomfort in his thigh.
But, as in the first set, he scored a double break and, this time, he concluded on his first opportunity. With only six unforced errors in the round.
He continued his momentum in the next set: another double break allowed him to lead 4-0. Paul couldn’t help it any longer.
Tsitsipas approaches the goal
Stefanos Tsitsipas, 4e world, qualified earlier Friday for the final, his second major final after Roland-Garros 2021, beating the Russian Karen Khachanov (20e) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3.
“As a child, I saw Marcos Baghdatis play in the final here and I thought to myself that I too would like to play on these courts one day. So it reminds me of childhood memories, ”savored the 24-year-old Greek, referring to the 2006 final lost by the Cypriot player against Roger Federer.
PHOTO MARTIN KEEP, AGENCY FRANCE-PRESSE Stefanos Tsitsipas
“I feel blessed to play at this level. I’ve been working for this for years,” Tsitsipas said.
He had already played the semi-finals in Melbourne three times (2019, 2021, 2022) but never made the leap.
Last year, Tsitsipas was beaten in the semi-finals by Daniil Medvedev. This year he becomes the youngest finalist in Melbourne since Novak Djokovic in 2011.
A title on Sunday would also allow him to become world No.1.
“I like this figure! “, he launched “These are these moments for which I work a lot. There is more than one win in these big games. And I’m happy that this chance presents itself here” in Melbourne in front of a huge Greek community which loudly supports him.
Djokovic can also become N.1 again, on the same condition of winning the title.
Tsitsipas had never lost to Khachanov in five meetings on the circuit.
On Friday, the Russian, who was playing his second Grand Slam semi-final after reaching the last four at Flushing Meadows last year, was very solid. He had ten aces, 46 winners for 32 unforced errors, won three of the four break points obtained and saved seven of twelve on his own service.
But Tsitsipas was both solid and creative. And he logically took the upper hand with in particular twenty winning shots more than his opponent (66) and 29 points won on the fly on 41 climbs.
In the first set, twice Tsitsipas succeeded in breaking and twice Khachanov picked up in stride. But in the tiebreaker, the Greek won easily.
The second set always seemed to tip in favor of Tsitsipas. Khachanov hung on before giving up his face-off to allow Tsitsipas to lead 5-4 and serve for the set. The Greek was not told twice and concluded with a white game.
Tsitsipas then earned the break to lead 2-1 in the third set and served for the match at 5-4. But with a start, Khachanov unbroken.
In the tiebreaker, Tsitsipas came away 6/4 with two match points, but Khachanov scored four points in a row to come back two sets to one.
Tsitsipas made the entry break in the fourth set and kept the advantage.
