Stefanos Tsitsipas

MELBOURNE - Serbia's top-ranked tennis player Novak Djokovic is through to the Australian Open final after defeating American Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 on Friday.

Justifying the role of favourite against Paul, Djokovic won another match in Melbourne without losing a set.

He suffered his only blip of the tie at the end of the first set, when he let slip a 5-1 lead.

Stefanos Tsitsipas moved into the Australian Open final on Friday, taking a step towards becoming the first Greek world number one, which the third seed said would be the culmination of a boyhood dream.

Stefanos Tsitsipas had a harder time strictly following all of the rules than he did outplaying his opponent in the early going, then recovered after blowing two match points late in the third set, and eventually reached the final at the Australian Open for the first time by beating Karen Khachanov 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3 on Friday.

Greek third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in action against Russian 18th seed Karen Khachanov during their men's semi final match at the 2023 Australian Open tennis tournament at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Friday. Tsitsipas blazed his way into the final with a 7-6(2) 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 win where he will meet either favorite Novak Djokovic or Tommy Paul for the title. [EPA]

Djokovic's opponent will be Tommy Paul, an American with whom he has not met so far in his career.
This is Novak's 10th time playing in the semi-finals of Melbourne, and he has been successful in all previous ones.
Djokovic has been pretty confident so far in the tournament, despite the hamstring injury.

Stefanos Tsitsipas produced a blockbuster performance to reach the Australian Open semi-final on Tuesday then sent out an invitation to actress Margot Robbie to come and support him.

Stefanos Tsitsipas reached the Australian Open semi-finals for the fourth time as the Greek saw off rising Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-3 7-6(2) 6-4 on Tuesday.

The third seed dominated the opening set after breaking a nervy Lehecka early on but was pushed hard after that against the 21-year-old who has enjoyed a breakout tournament.

Stefanos Tsitsipas found another gear when it counted to fend off Jannik Sinner in a five-set thriller and reach the Australian Open quarter-finals in a rare win for the high seeds this Sunday.

Third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas made short work of Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, winning 6-2 7-6(5) 6-3 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday, shortly after organizers defended their schedule after the previous day's late finish.

A dominant Stefanos Tsitsipas proved a step too far for home hope Rinky Hijikata as the Greek third seed eased into the Australian Open third round with a 6-3 6-0 6-2 win on Wednesday.

Wildcard Hijikata, ranked 169th in the world, went toe to toe with Tsitsipas in the early exchanges and looked capable of making it a contest for the Rod Laver Arena crowd.