Novak Djokovic will look to win his tenth Australian Open title on Sunday, which would also allow him to tie Rafael Nadal’s all-time record for major trophies (22) and regain No.1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. This Friday, the Serbian defeated Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 and met Stefanos Tsitsipas in the decisive match in Melbourne.
However, it will be a final with a lot at stake: if the Greek wins, he will capture his first Grand Slam and also move up to World No.1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. That is to say, the winner will be the new owner of the classification from next Monday, replacing Carlos Alcaraz.
By defeating Paul in their first ATP Head2Head meeting, Djokovic guaranteed himself a 33rd Grand Slam final, in which he will have a familiar rival on the other side of the net: the Serb has beaten Tsitsipas in 10 of the 12 duels between both of them.
Djokovic took a 5-1 lead in the first set, but saw how Paul turned the score around, recovering the two breaks difference, to make it 5-5, forcing the Serb to increase the level to end up taking the lead. with the first sleeve, avoiding the tiebreaker.
After clinching the first set, Djokovic broke loose, starting the second with a 5-0 run on the back of his best version, provoking applause in the stands of the Rod Laver Arena by an audience devoted to the greatest winner in the history of the first set.
Grand Slam of the season. The Serbian followed that path in the third set, which he crowned without problems to get into the grand final of the Australian Open.
Nole is on a 26-match winning streak at Melbourne Park
Novak Djokovic continued by saying that he receives information one way or another and that he accepts the circumstances as they are.
“But in one way or another today, information comes to you. When it does, it’s there, so then you have to find a way just to kind of accept, let it go, just not allow it to consume your day or turn your state of mind into something that you don’t want, especially before semifinals or finals of a Grand Slam,” Djokovic said.
“These are the moments where you’re just like, okay, now it’s about locking in, it’s about creating your own space with your own people, being comfortable, and just trying to focus on what matters,” he added.
