MELBOURNE, Australia – Stefanos Tsitsipas had a harder time sticking to all the rules than he did, beating his opponent early in the game, then recovering from dropping two match points late in the third set, and eventually reaching the Australian Open final for the first time in Friday Karen Khachanov 7:6 (2), 6:4, 6:7 (6), 6:3.
No. 3 seed Tsitsipas went 0-3 in the semi-final at Melbourne Park but eventually took it a step further to succeed in the second Grand Slam championship match of his profession.
For the higher part of three sets against Khachanov, it looked easy, but Tsitsipas broke by serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, then missed any likelihood to shut the match as he led 6-4 in the next time beyond regulation. Khachanov racked up 4 more points there, wiping out match points with a pair of powerful forehands. Nevertheless, Tsitsipas quickly regained his footing, taking a 3–0 lead in the fourth.
“In the event you stay around, if you happen to commit much more and focus on those vital moments,” said Tsitsipas, “it pays off quite well.”
Now Tsitsipas will face Novak Djokovic or unseeded American Tommy Paul in Sunday’s men’s singles final.
If he wins his first major trophy, Tsitsipas can even reach one other milestone: he’ll rise to No. 1 in the ATP rankings for the first time.
“I like this number. It’s all about you. It’s single. It is a “1,” Tsitsipas said. “These are the moments I’ve worked hard for.”
Djokovic, who would return to No. 1 if he won the championship, has won the Australian Open nine times and has a complete of 21 Grand Slam titles – only Rafael Nadal, with 22, has more amongst men – and won a 26-game winning streak at Melbourne Park in Friday’s second semi-final. Until this week, Paul had never been past the fourth round in his 13 previous major tournament appearances.
Tsitsipas’ second run to the grand final got here at the 2021 French Open when he won the first two sets before losing an enormous lead and losing to Djokovic in five.
Earlier this week, Djokovic said of Tsitsipas: “He’s never played in a final, am I improper?” Recalled by journalists about Roland Garros, Djokovic replied: “That is right. Sorry that is my fault.”
For about 2.5 hours at the Rod Laver Arena on Friday, which began with cloud cover and temperatures reaching 80 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius), the 24-year-old from Greece showed a game that was too versatile and strikes that were too consistent with the entire field for 18th-seeded Khachanov, a Russian who’s now 0-2 in the Slam semi-final.
The truth is, the biggest problem for Tsitsipas during this era was attempting to address the watchful eyes of match officials monitoring the 25-second clock and the position of his feet.
Head umpire Nico Helwerth’s first timeout warning got here when Tsitsipas served in the first set at 5-3, love-15. Perhaps distracted, he made a double mistake by following love-30 and was ultimately broken there.
The serve clock ticked back to 5-all, love-15, and a second offense resulted in an automatic fault, prompting Tsitsipas’ father – who coaches him with former player Mark Philippoussis – to rise up from his seat on the court. Again, Tsitsipas made a double fault, falling behind Love-30 again, but this time he managed to maintain the serve and was significantly better in the next time beyond regulation, with the ability to ignore a foot fault that made it 3-1.
There have been more foot faults in the second set, and after one, Helwerth cleared up the problem: Tsitsipas’ back foot was too far back when serving from Deuce’s side, causing his shoe to go off the halfway line.
Tsitsipas made it 5-4, aided by a wild point where he recovered three re-throws from Khachanov, prompting roars from many spectators waving blue and white Greek flags. He soon grabbed this kit. He broke again to guide 2–1 in the third but did not slam the door shut.
As an alternative, Tsitsipas – who lost in the Melbourne semi-finals to Nadal in 2019 and to Daniil Medvedev in 2021 and 2022 – had to attend 40 minutes from first to last match.
Serving at 5-3, 40-love in the fourth set, he missed a forehand volley on number 3. “Uh, oh,” perhaps he was forgiven for pondering. But at the next point, Probability #4, a serve hit that triggered a protracted comeback and was capable of breathe a sigh of relief.
“I’m very pleased to be in the final now,” said Tsitsipas, “we’ll see what happens.”