HomeSportsDjokovic and Tsitsipas battle for the title in Australia, earning a rise...

Djokovic and Tsitsipas battle for the title in Australia, earning a rise to No. 1 in the world.

Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas face each other on Sunday (8.30am, Eurosport) in the men’s final of the Australian Open, which is scheduled to take place at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena. It is the second time that the two tennis players have faced each other in the final of a Grand Slam, and in the first, in 2021, at Roland Garros, the Serb won in five set.

Djokovic, 25 years old, will now try to repeat this feat, knowing all the more that it will break the record of 22 titles in main subjects, held by Spaniard Rafael Nadal. The Serb is still determined to get around the low popularity he currently enjoys in Australian countries, after finally being prevented from taking part in the tournament last year because he was not vaccinated against covid-19 – he was even deported – this week his father Srdjan appeared in photos with supporters of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, something that earned him some boos during the semi-final with American Tommy Paul.

There is another attraction in this first Grand Slam final of the season, because the victory immediately guarantees a jump to the first place in the ATP ranking, which is occupied for 20 weeks in a row by the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz. In practice, Djokovic (current number 5) can return to a position he held for 373 weeks in his career, while the Greek Tsitsipas, 24 years old, cherishes the dream of reaching the position of best in the world for the first time. becoming the 29th tennis player to hold the throne since the ATP rankings began in 1973.

To reach his 10th Australian Open final, in which he holds the record with nine titles, Djokovic defeated Tommy Paul in three setin a meeting that lasted 2.20 hours in which the Serb lost his concentration after arguing with the referee as he led 5-1 in the first set. The American equalized 5-5, but the victory eventually went 7-5 to Djokovic, after the problem in the game was solved. set followed by 6-1 and 6-2.

More complicated was the task of Tsitsipas (4th in the ranking), who needed four set and nearly 3:30 to defeat Russia’s Karen Khachanov (20th ATP) with Partials of 7-6, 6-4, 6-7 and 6-3. The Greek tennis player will thus contest the second final of a Grand Slam, hoping to avenge that defeat at Roland Garros.

unpublished women’s final

On Saturday morning (8.30 am, Eurosport) the Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina (22nd in the WTA ranking) and the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (5th) will contest the women’s title at the Australian Open. This is a duel that will determine an unprecedented champion. Incidentally, only Rybakina, 23, can be proud of winning a Grand Slam just last year at Wimbledon, and this is Sabalenka’s first time playing in a grand final.

[email protected]

Author: Carlos Nogueira

Source: DN

Stay Connected
16,985FansLike
2,458FollowersFollow
61,453SubscribersSubscribe
Must Read
Related News

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here