Stefanos Tsitsipas won the Australian Open semi-finals at the fourth attempt on Friday, battling his way to the decider at Melbourne Park with a gritty victory over Russian 18th seed Karen Khachanov.
The Greek third seed won 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3 in the hot sun at Rod Laver Arena to set up a final against nine-time champion Novak Djokovic. or America’s Tommy Paul.
At 24, he became the youngest man to reach the final since 23-year-old Djokovic in 2011.
If one of the big Serbians lift the trophy, they will be number one in the world.
“I dreamed as a kid that one day I could play on this court against the best players in the world,” said Tsitsipas, who is now 10-0 for the season and on the brink of his first Grand Slam crown.
“So I’m happy with the fight I had today. I feel blessed, blessed to be able to play tennis at this level. I’ve wanted for many years now to put Greek tennis on the map.
“I’m very happy that I’m in the final now and let’s see what happens,” he said.
Tsitsipas has flourished in Melbourne throughout his career after breaking out at the 2019 event as a 20-year-old when he beat defending champion Roger Federer in the last 16.
He went on to reach the semi-finals that year and again in 2021 and 2022 – falling one match short on each occasion – to highlight the consistency that has made him a mainstay in the world’s top 10 for nearly four years.
But the Grand Slam crown remains elusive, with the runner-up at Roland Garros in 2021 his best result to date, falling to Djokovic in five sets after holding a 2-0 lead.
Tsitsipas comes into the Khachanov match full of confidence, further boosted by enjoying a 5-0 record against the Russian.
He opened by serving to love and applied early pressure, earning a break in game four when Khachanov committed a baseline error.
But the advantage did not last as the 18th seed immediately struck back to level when Tsitsipas hit a forehand.
The Greek star, unstoppable on his forehand and forced another break to take a 5-3 lead, only for Khachanov to roar back.
It became a tiebreak with Tsitsipas quickly taking over.
– Cool Tsitsipas –
Khachanov fended off three break points early in the second set followed by serve until Tsitsipas earned two more after a 22-shot rally at 4-4, and this time he made no mistake.
With the bit between his teeth, the third seed stepped up the pressure to secure a 2-1 break in the third set, then rallied.
Khachanov looked down and out but in the last twist broke back when Tsitsipas – two points from victory – sent a wide overhead volley when he served for the match.
It pushed the third set into another tiebreak, where the Greek worked two match points on serve, but failed to convert and the Russian slipped to fourth place.
Tsitsipas, whose spell in Melbourne has focused on the positives rather than the negatives, kept his cool and pulled away to break again for 2-0, and this time there was no comeback.