Sports

Australian Open: Djokovic Beats Paul, Faces Rival Tsitsipas In Final

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 25: Novak Djokovic of Serbia celebrates after winning in the Quarterfinal singles match against Andrey Rublev during day ten of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 25, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Serbian 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.

The 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.

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

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. In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio. He worked there for 13 years until October 2017. Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch. He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations. Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ). He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line. Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.