Novak

Novak Djokovic will play for his 10th Australian Open title and a record-tying 22nd Grand Slam championship after defeating American Tommy Paul, 7-5, 6-1, ...

It's a childhood dream to be capturing the No. It's a Grand Slam final, I'm fighting for the No. “After that I started swing through the ball more, so I’m just really pleased to get through (to) another final.” He has improved a lot over the years. I had no intention of being caught up in this.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/01/1459323348.jpg) “Well, I won that match so my recollections are very positive,” Djokovic said. But the match turned with Paul serving at 5-6, 30-0 when he failed to hold. A statement from Victoria Police has confirmed all four men were evicted from the event. [said](https://nypost.com/2023/01/27/novak-djokovics-dad-srdjan-djokovic-responds-to-putin-flag-video/): “I am here to support my son only. The winner of the final will become world No. Djokovic’s mother, Dijana, and brother, Djordje, were in his box, while there was an empty seat where his father had been sitting. Djokovic leads Tsitsipas 10-2, but the Greek has a 2-1 advantage on outdoor hard courts.

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.

'Tell me how!' Djokovic explodes at ump while getting rule wrong as PM stunned by act.

“It’s not when a player gets to the towel box. Then he’s got to fight off not just Tommy Paul, but quite a number of the spectators. Nine’s Jim Courier explained: “Novak is trying to figure out when the clock should start.

The Serbian hopes to have his father in his box for the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday.

I hope he’s going to be feeling OK to be in the courts because I would like to have him there for the finals.” “Of course, it’s not pleasant for me to go through this with all the things that I had to deal with last year and this year in Australia. “Of course, it wasn’t pleasant not to have him in the box. “I can’t be angry with him or upset because I can say it was not his fault. Speaking at a press conference, Djokovic said: “It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened has escalated to such a high level. Unfortunately some of the media has interpreted that in a really wrong way.

Novak Djokovic will look to his experience as a nine-time Australian Open champion when he meets Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final in Melbourne.

“[A] personal reason is that I feel on the tennis court I always have an opportunity to learn something new about myself [and] fight with my own demons, that I guess we all have,” said Djokovic. Tying Nadal in the Grand Slam titles race with victory in Melbourne would set Djokovic up to push for more historic achievements in 2023. Yet he will take nothing for granted in the knowledge that the 24-year-old third seed has more than enough incentive to bring his best to [Rod Laver](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rod-laver/l058/overview) Arena. “When we're on the tennis court in the midst of a battle, some of the things surface, and I have to deal with it. Then [it] was quite smooth sailing, I would say, from the beginning of the second towards the end of the match. The Serbian led 5-1, 40/30 but allowed the American back into the set at 5-5, before Djokovic regained his composure just in time to clinch a set in which he hit 24 unforced errors. He could equal [Rafael Nadal](https://www.atptour.com/en/players/rafael-nadal/n409/overview)’s record of 22 Grand Slam crowns with victory over Tsitsipas, while whichever player wins is also set to claim the No. “Of course, still the job needs to be done on the court,” said Djokovic, who has won his past nine tour-level meetings against the Greek. “I think that the experience of being in this particular situation and circumstances before helps. I'm really glad to overcome that crisis towards the end of the first set. “I'm of course very satisfied and pleased to be in another Grand Slam final,” said Djokovic after riding out his rough patch to reach his 10th championship match at the hard-court major. “I know his game pretty well.

'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.

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.

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.

Nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic defends his father, after he was filmed standing with a group displaying a banned Russian flag that was ...

I hope to have him. It has got to me, of course, as well." [We] just didn't know how things will play out, I guess. But I hope people understand that there was absolutely no intention whatsoever to support any kind of war initiatives or anything like that. He moved on." That's what he thought.

Novak Djokovic launched a fierce defence of his father, saying "misinterpretation" has escalated the situation. He says he hopes his father is courtside for ...

"I hope to have him. "There was no intention ... Unfortunately some of the media has interpreted that in a really wrong way," Djokovic said. "As my father put in a statement, we are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war. He went out to celebrate with my fans. It's not something that I want or need. I was not aware of it until last night. If Tennis Australia is serious, it will take away his accreditation, it will not allow him back in." "Tennis Australia needs to take a principled position. That's what he thought. "It's no different here. Then, of course, I was not pleased to see that.

A video of Novak Djokovic's dad standing alongside supporters of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is an unfortunate “misinterpretation”, the tennis star says.

I had no intention of being caught up in this. “Tennis Australia stands with the call for peace and an end to war and violent conflict in Ukraine.” “We will continue to strive for the safety of fans at the event and reiterate our position banning flags from Belarus and Russia,” the statement said. “I hope that all the people that come to the finals are going to come for the tennis, that’s what we all wish for. “I heard what he said in the video: he said, ‘cheers’,” he said. “Of course it’s not pleasant for me to go through this, with everything I had to deal with in Australia,” he said.

Serb has looked as dominant as ever but sleeping on his opponent's storming season would be a misstep in Melbourne.

Tsitsipas knows how well he can serve, how he can dominate the baseline with his forehand and use his athleticism and deft touch to stay with Djokovic in the cat-and-mouse exchanges to come. They have clearly helped produce his best tennis and the prospect of achieving history under these circumstances, as the first Greek grand slam champion and No 1, means even more to him than if it were anywhere else. For two sets he showed all of his colours, from his resilience to snatch the first set tiebreak, to the level he maintained in consolidating it. Aside from the possibility of Djokovic’s hamstring derailing him, a final against Tsitsipas was clearly the biggest threat. [fourth-round demolition of Alex de Minaur](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/jan/23/australian-open-tennis-novak-djokovic-blasts-past-de-minaur-and-into-quarter-finals), Novak Djokovic discussed a field that contained no other grand slam champion in the draw. Djokovic identified Stefanos Tsitsipas as the most experienced player left, but as he spoke of the various milestones in Tsitsipas’s career, Djokovic’s memory failed.