Novak Djokovic beat Tommy Paul on Friday to progress to the final clash of the Australian Open 2023. The 35-year-old registered a win 7-5,6-1, 6-2 against Paul to carry a 27-match winning streak at Melbourne Park. The legendary tennis player will now face Stefanos Tsitsipas on january 29, Sunday at the Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic won the title for three consecutive years 2019, 2020, and 2021, but couldn't participate in the 2022 edition because he was not granted a visa for being unvaccinated for Covid-19. However, the Serbian who has won the Australian Open nine times will want to reclaim the title. Djokovic would return to No.1 in the ATP rankings if he wins the championship. He has won the Australian Open nine times and owns 21 Grand Slam titles in all and only Rafael Nadal, with 22, has more number of titles among men.
Performance of Djokovic in all four Grand Slams in 2022:
- Australian Open: NA
- French Open: Quarterfinals
- Wimbledon: Winner
- US Open: NA
Until this week, Paul never had been past the fourth round in 13 previous appearances at major tournaments. Earlier, he defeated Ben Shelton in quarterfinals to make it to the last four.
In the first semifinal match, Tsitsipas beat Karen Khachanov 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-7 (6), and 6-3 to advance to the final clash. The No. 3-seeded Tsitsipas became the 9th active male player to make it to multiple Grand Slam finals.
