Only Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece stands between Novak Djokovic and a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam victory as he advances to his 10th Australian Open final.
The fourth-seeded Serbian defeated the unseeded American Tommy Paul on Rod Laver Arena with ease, winning 7-5, 6-1, 6-2, and moving on to the 33rd Grand Slam championship match.
Only Stefanos Tsitsipas stands between Novak Djokovic and a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam victory as he charges into his 10th Australian Open final. The fourth-seeded Serbian defeated unseeded American Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena after overcoming an early slump. He would join Rafael Nadal with 22 Slam victories if he wins another championship on Sunday, returning the 35-year-old to the top spot for the first time since last June.
Should he win the championship, Greek third seed Tsitsipas, who defeated Russian 18th seed Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 in the second semifinal, will also become the number one player in the world.
After being caught on camera posing with a man holding a Russian flag bearing Vladimir Putin’s portrait following his son’s quarterfinal victory on Wednesday, Djokovic played the match without father Srdjan sitting courtside.
Following the incident, Ukraine expressed its outrage and demanded that Djokovic’s father be disqualified from the competition.
