This Friday, the confrontation in which the Serb and the Greek will seek to win the first Grand Slam of the year and number 1 in the ATP rankings has been defined.
The Australian Open final has already defined its protagonists. Novak Djokovic (5th in the ATP rankings) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (4th) will be responsible for defining the winner of the first Grand Slam of the year after signing up for the definition of the title .
The first round of the day took the Greek onto the pitch to face Russian Karen Khachanov where after three hours and 21 minutes of fighting he was able to take the match by 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6) and 6-3 .
A victory which also allows him to rejoice at reaching number one in the world ranking for the first time, supplanting the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who has commanded the ranking since winning the US Open in September 2022.
So far, the best position obtained by the Greek is third place, obtained in September 2021 and it is the one he will repeat if he finishes in second place in Australia. .
“I worked hard to be able to play finals like this, finals that make more sense than just one final. commented Tsitsipas after the victory.
“I will be in a Grand Slam final and I will be fighting for the number 1 spot. It’s a childhood dream to make it to number 1 one day. I’m close and I’m happy that this opportunity presents itself here in Australia. It’s a very important place “, he added.
Novak Djokovic, the other finalist
After Tsitsipas’ triumph in the first corner, it was time for the clash between Novak Djokovic and the American Tommy Paul (35th).
And in this case, the Serb played an impeccable game that allowed him to complete the match in three sets in two hours and 22 minutes.
The first quarter was the most complicated for the Balkan, who suffered the loss of two services, although managed to strike at the right time to avoid the decisive game and won 7-5. In the other two the advantage was much clearer, ending up winning the match with sets of 6-1 and 6-2 .
This triumph means several things for Djokovic. On the one hand, toHe rode a 27-game winning streak at the Australian Open, surpassing the 26 recorded by Andre Agassi .
Moreover, Djokovic will have a chance to equal the number of Grand Slams won by Rafael Nadal . The Spaniard has racked up a total of 22 titles in this instance, while the Serbian has registered 21 so far.
Finally, the victory against Tsitsipas would allow him to regain the world number 1 which he ended up losing after being excluded from a series of events due to his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid. .
“Winning Grand Slams and being number 1 in the world are probably the two biggest goals you can aspire to as a professional tennis player. let’s see what happens commented Nole after the game.
Moreover, he mentioned that one of the key factors in this triumph was staying calm in the first set. “I was very lucky to keep my composure towards the end of the first set. It was the key. After that I started to move the ball more, so I’m very happy to reach another final.”
Finally, he acknowledged the support shown by the participants. “That means everything, especially at this stage of my career. I need that engine, I need that energy and I’m very grateful because I still have enough gas in my legs to be able to play at this level on one of the biggest tennis courts in the world . ”.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
