Djokovic

With his father choosing not to attend Rod Laver Arena, Novak Djokovic wins his semifinal in straight sets to book a berth in Sunday night's tournament ...

Paul got on the board in the third by holding serve in the fifth game, however Djokovic could not be stopped on his way to securing a straight-sets win. The third set was one-way traffic, with Djokovic snaring a double-break as he leapt out to a 4-0 advantage. The chant resumed after Djokovic broke Paul's serve in the next game to claim the first set, with the former world number one pumping his left fist in the air as if he was conducting the crowd's response. Djokovic was able to stem the tide in the 11th game when he held, as his fans chanted his nickname 'Nole' around the centre-court stadium. It was during the seventh game — when he had a set point — that Djokovic let his emotions boil over after he got involved in a dispute with chair umpire Damien Dumusois over his use of a towel between points. Djokovic appeared nervous in the opening game of the first set, as Paul twice had a break point on his opponent's serve.

Novak Djokovic stands on the brink of a historic 22nd Grand Slam title after he passed a tricky semi-final test from Tommy Paul on Friday at the Australian ...

[Australian Open](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/australian-open/580/overview) to 27 matches. Paul will be rewarded for reaching his maiden Grand Slam semi-final this fortnight in Melbourne with a spot in the Top 20 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time. [Stefanos Tsitsipas](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/stefanos-tsitsipas/te51/overview), who earlier defeated [Karen Khachanov](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/karen-khachanov/ke29/overview) 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. The only exception was an uncharacteristic lapse in the first set, when Paul took advantage of a flurry of wayward groundstrokes from the Serbian to recover a double-break deficit and level at 5-5. He struggled to regularly hit through the Serbian’s resilient defence, however, with Djokovic hitting 31 winners to Paul’s 18 overall. "It means everything, especially at this stage of my career," said Djokovic. Despite hitting 24 unforced errors in the opening set, Djokovic regained his composure to claim it, with some clinical groundstrokes earning him a decisive break in the 12th game. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with the winner set to leapfrog [Carlos Alcaraz](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/carlos-alcaraz/a0e2/overview) into top spot on Monday. After that I started swinging through the ball more, so I'm just really pleased to get through to another final.” Despite dropping four straight games from 5-1 to let Paul back into the opening set on Let's see what happens." [Novak Djokovic](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview) stands on the brink of a record-extending 10th [Australian Open](https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/australian-open/580/overview) title after he overcame a patchy start to defeat [Tommy Paul](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/tommy-paul/pl56/overview) 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 on Friday in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park.

Djokovic will play for his 22nd Grand Slam title on Sunday against Stefanos Tsitsipas. Will his father, Srdjan, be in his usual seat in the stands to cheer ...

He has won four of the last six Grand Slams he has played and is often most dangerous when facing adversity. Despite wobbling in the third set with the finish line in sight, Tsitsipas came out strong in the fourth set and cruised into his second Grand Slam final, a test he said he has never been more ready for, especially with the Greek-Australian Mark Philippoussis helping his father coach. The atmosphere is likely to be even more spirited on Sunday against Tsitsipas, who is a local favorite because of Australia’s significant Greek population, among the largest in the world outside of Greece and the United States. At 4-4 in the second set, Tsitsipas turned a tight match, scrambling for a series of overheads and winning the 22-shot rally with a rolling forehand winner to break Khachanov’s serve, then clinched the set in the next game. “We are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war,” he said. “Even if it doesn’t work, I’m very optimistic and positive about any outcome, any opponent that I have to face. Djokovic jumped out to an early 5-1 lead, but after he complained to the chair umpire about a fan who was harassing him he fell into a temporary funk. He appeared on a glide pattern to yet another Australian Open men’s singles title and the 22nd Grand Slam title of his career. “So there is no disruption to tonight’s semifinal for my son or for the other player, I have chosen to watch from home.” The organization noted Srdjan Djokovic’s decision not to attend the match. Djokovic, Serbia’s favorite son and most famous citizen, will play for his 10th Australian Open championship on Sunday against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, but the glide pattern is officially over. Djokovic will play for his 22nd Grand Slam title on Sunday against Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The 35-year-old is scything his way through the Australian Open in a haze of righteous fury after being deported a year ago.

He remains, for example, a disciple of the wellness guru Chervin Jafarieh, who has a podcast with the amazingly terrible/brilliant name Wake The Fake Up, who starts each day with an hour and a half of trampolining followed by a mouthful of “longevity mushrooms”, and who basically wants to sell you his wellness products via Novak’s Instagram page. Is this all forbidden fruit, a tennis version of the good bits with the devil in Paradise Lost that you’re not supposed to enjoy? Is it wrong, is it weak, is it politically suspect to appreciate the dark pleasure in this revenger’s story, the extraordinary dramatic arc? Now, a year on, we have this, a 35-year-old scything his way through the tournament in a haze of righteous fury. By the end Djokovic was playing at something close to his most irresistible pitch, a level of intensity and precision where the opponent basically becomes irrelevant, an ominous prospect for Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday afternoon. And yet aged 35 he is now on the verge of completing one of the most mind-bogglingly cinematic narrative arcs in sporting history.

Novak Djokovic will compete for his 10th Australian Open title on Sunday after a near-flawless performance against American Tommy Paul at Rod Laver Arena on ...

Djokovic confronted the chair umpire in frustration, breaking his laser-sharp focus, the resultant lapse in concentration of which Paul pounced on. “No, of course, you’re not as fresh as at the beginning of the tournament, that’s for sure. But this year, with his lack of confidence in his movement and his defensive capabilities, he’s gone bigger. “It’s great. “The last time he won here - last time he played here - two years ago, the forehand, the backhand, they were every bit as good as he needed (though not as fast). Tsitsipas is searching for his first grand slam title, while Djokovic will be hunting a record-equaling 22nd major title.

'It has got to me': Djokovic's admission as dad 'misused' by pro-Russia protesters.

I just don’t think there’s going to be any conflict on and off the court in terms of the crowd. “My family has lived through the horror of war, and we wish only for peace. He was misused in this situation by this group of people. “He was passing through, made a photo, it has escalated. “It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened yesterday has escalated to such a high level. Unfortunately some of the media has interpreted that in a really wrong way. But I hope people understand that there was absolutely no intention whatsoever to support any kind of war initiatives or anything like that. As my father put in a statement, we are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war. But it is what it is. That’s what he thought. I was not aware of it till last night. We know how devastating that is for the family, for people in any country that is going through the war.