Australian Open 2023 Results: Instant Reactions to Winners and Losers from Friday
Novak Djokovic ended the magical run of unseeded American Tommy Paul in the semifinal round of the 2023 Australian Open on Friday.
The nine-time winner in Melbourne took care of the 25-year-old American in three sets inside Rod Laver Arena, dropping just eight games in total.
A Djokovic victory was always the expected result of the matchup with Paul, whose previous best major finish was in the fourth round at last year's Wimbledon.
Djokovic will face a far more experienced opponent in the men's singles final on Sunday.
Stefanos Tsitsipas reached his second Grand Slam final by beating Karen Khachanov in a much more even encounter on Rod Laver Arena.
The third-seeded Greek is the highest-seeded player left in the draw, but he will be the underdog in the final against Djokovic.
Djokovic has never lost a championship match in Melbourne. Tsitsipas will be the sixth l opponent looking to break the Serbian's hold in Australian Open finals.
Men's Semifinal Results
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No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas def. No. 18 Karen Khachanov, 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-7 (6), 6-3
No. 4 Novak Djokovic def. Tommy Paul, 7-5, 6-1, 6-2
Novak Djokovic Ends Tommy Paul's Unlikely Run in Semifinals
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Tommy Paul was not even remotely considered as a potential semifinal opponent for Novak Djokovic when the Australian Open began.
Paul took advantage of a wide-open bottom half of the bracket to land his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal appearance. The second-round losses of No. 2 seed Casper Ruud and No. 8 seed Taylor Fritz opened up the draw.
The semifinal result for anyone in that part of the bracket was likely to fall against Djokovic, who has never lost a semifinal or final match in Melbourne.
Djokovic asserted his dominance in the second and third sets, as he won 12 of the 15 games played. Paul gave the Serbian a good fight in the first set before losing 7-5.
Paul should leave Australia with his head held high after a phenomenal tournament. The semifinal breakthrough could serve as a massive boost for the rest of his season, especially as the American is set to break into the World's Top 20.
For Djokovic, the win was just another straight-set victory down under. He has five of them in six matches. Frenchman Enzo Couacaud in the second round was the only player to take a set off Djokovic in the tournament, eventually losing 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-2 6-0.
The fourth-seeded Serbian has four straight-set victories in his nine Australian Open finals, but three-set wins in title matches have been harder to come by lately.
Djokovic dropped at least one set in four straight major finals, and in seven of his last eight championship appearances.
The outlier in that run is a three-set win over Daniil Medvedev in Melbourne in 2021. He also beat Andy Murray in 2016 and Rafael Nadal in 2019 in straight sets to win the Australian Open.
The first Grand Slam of the season is statistically Djokovic's strongest, and he could come away from Sunday with his 10th win in Melbourne and second in a major final over Tsitsipas.
Stefanos Tsitsipas Advances to Second Grand Slam Final
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Tsitsipas will meet Djokovic in a Grand Slam final for the second time in three years.
The third-seeded Greek fended off a challenge from No. 18 seed Karen Khachanov to qualify for his second-career Grand Slam final, and his first in Melbourne.
Tsitsipas played the most consistent tennis in the top half of the draw, which was affected by Rafael Nadal's injury-caused exit in the second round and upsets to Daniil Medvedev and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third and fourth rounds respectively.
Like Djokovic, Melbourne Park has treated Tsitsipas extremely well. He advanced to the semifinal in four of the last five Australian Opens.
Friday's win marked the first breakthrough into the final for the Greek, who fell short twice against Daniil Medvedev and once against Rafael Nadal in his previous three semifinal appearances.
Tsitsipas had four straight-set wins over unseeded players, a four-set win over Khachanov and a five-set triumph over No. 15 Jannik Sinner to reach the final.
The struggles against Khachanov and Sinner could be cause for concern about his potential upset bid against Djokovic.
Tsitsipas and his camp should not dwell on the lost sets in Melbourne, or the 10 head-to-head losses against Djokovic in preparation for the final.
The focus should be on the two sets won against Djokovic in the 2021 French Open final. His 2-1 record against Djokovic on outdoor hardcourts is in his favour. Tsitsipas can draw a belief from these matches to potentially win his first Grand Slam title.
If Tsitsipas wins, it would mark the first time since Stanislas Wawrinka in 2014 that a first-time men's major winner would be crowned at the Australian Open. He would also be only the second player, with Wawrinka, to win the opening Grand Slam and not be one of the 'Big Three' since 2005.
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