Novak Djokovic, 5th in the world, will face Stefanos Tsitsipas (4th) on Sunday January 29 in the Australian Open final, where he will aim for a 22nd Grand Slam title to equal Rafael Nadal's record.

He swept, Friday January 27 in the semi-finals, the American Tommy Paul (35th) 7-5, 6-1, 6-2.

"I won the last [final played against Tsitsipas, at Roland-Garros in 2021, editor's note] so I keep the positive! But I was down two sets to zero", recalled the Serbian tennis player.

"Since then, Stefanos has progressed. So may the best win!", Added Djokovic a few minutes after dominating in the semi-finals, and despite a left thigh still largely bandaged, the unexpected American Tommy Paul (35th).

The Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas, 4th in the world, qualified for this final, his second major final after Roland-Garros 2021, beating the Russian Karen Khachanov (20th) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3.

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, at 24, he becomes the youngest finalist in Melbourne since Novak Djokovic in 2011.

Novak Djokovic's father unwanted

Novak Djokovic could not count on the support of his father in the stadium for this semi-final.

Srdjan Djokovic gave up attending so as not to stir up tensions after the broadcast of a video showing him celebrating the victory of his son with pro-Russian supporters.

It provoked a strong reaction from the Ukrainian ambassador to Australia, who demanded that Srdjan Djokovic be withdrawn from his accreditation for the tournament.

Novak Djokovic didn't seem disturbed by this incident during his match against Tommy Paul.

"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 my shots go better", analyzed Djokovic.

Without mentioning his thigh, he said he was "110%" on his energy level.

A joke quickly stale: "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 10th victory in Melbourne on Sunday in as many finals.

With AFP

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