Izuchukwu OkosiSerbian Novak Djokovic overcame a recent slump in form to defeat Tommy Paul 7-5 6-1 6-2, in one of Friday’s men’s semifinal matches at the Australian Open.
Djokovic whose appearance at the tournament was clouded by controversies will face third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe final to hold on Sunday morning will be Djokovic’s 10th appearance in the final of the Australian Open.
Djokovic raced to an opening 5-2 lead in the opening set but unforced errors saw Paul level up at five bills.
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Djokovic and Tsitsipas’ second grand slam final meeting has plenty on the line, with the winner to dethrone Carlos Alcaraz as world No.1 in the ATP ranking.
“I want to commend my family and my team. The win for me is also a win for them,” Djokovic stated
“I’ve trained a lot during the off season. I look forward to playing Tsitsipas and may the best player win,” Djokovic said post match.
If Djokovic wins in the final, it would see him go level with rival Rafael Nadal on 22 grand slam singles titles, and extend his Australian Open record with a 10th Melbourne Park crown.
Novak Djokovic then broke his silence on the controversy surrounding his father, Srdjan Djokovic, who was pictured posing with a Vladimir Putin flag in Melbourne
But the tennis star says he was ‘misused’ and said the ordeal had ‘got to me’
“It was unfortunate that the misinterpretation of what happened has escalated to such a high level,’’ he said.
‘‘It has got to me, of course, as well. I was not aware of it until last night. Then I was not pleased to see that.
“My whole family and myself have been through several wars during the 1990s. As my father put in a statement, we are against the war. We know how devastating it is for people in any country going through war.
”My father has been going after every match to meet with my fans, to thank them for the support, and make photos,” Djokovic clarified.
“The photo he made, he was passing through. There were a lot of Serbian flags around. He thought he was making a photo with somebody from Serbia. He was misused in this situation by this group of people.’’
Many Ukrainians have called for the banning of Novak Djokovic’s father from the Australian Open in Melbourne.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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