Australian Open 2023 finalist Tsitsipas hopes 'childhood dream' to become World No.1 comes true

Stefanos Tsitsipas earned a spot in the Australian Open 2023 final with a valiant victory against Karen Khachanov on Friday at the iconic Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne. The Greek will now compete for his maiden Grand Slam championship and the No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking. 

Tsitsipas won a 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6), and 6-3 semi-final match by exerting sustained pressure on his opponent from Russia throughout the three hours and 21 minutes of play.

A late Khachanov charge complicated what appeared to be his fifth consecutive set victory in the past two weeks. At 5-4 in the third set, the first-time semi-finalist from Melbourne prevented Tsitsipas from trying to serve out the match, and in the tie-break, he saved two match points with fearless forehand wins, launching a run of four points to take the set.

The Greek replied, though, and won the third set 3-0 to advance, just as he had done after failing to serve the first set.

"I thought about how hard I've worked to get into this position, and it takes a little bit more," Tsitsipas said of his mentality entering the fourth set. 

"I wasn't able to deliver that in the third set; I was extremely close to getting it. It's one of these moments that if you stick around, if you dedicate yourself even more and if you concentrate on these important moments event more, it pays off quite well. And always having that ambience in the background somewhere feels so good when I'm able to hit the ball and get such a reward back from the fans," the Greek added.

In Sunday's championship game, either unseeded American Tommy Paul or nine-time champion Novak Djokovic will face the third seed. In a replay of the 2021 Roland Garros final, which Djokovic won in five sets, the two will play in a straight shootout for the title of World No. 1 if the Serbian is the one across the net.

"These are the moments I've been working hard for. To be able to play finals like this, but finals that have bigger meaning that just a final," Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. 

"It's a Grand Slam final. I'm fighting for the No. 1 spot. It's a childhood dream to be capturing the No. 1 spot one day. I'm close. I'm happy that this opportunity comes here in Australia and not somewhere else, because this is a place of significance," the Greek added.

"Let's do it guys!" Tsitsipas continued, addressing the Rod Laver Arena crowd that has helped fuel his run. "Let's go!" he signed off.

Tsitsipas continued to build his success throughout the tournament on powerful serves and smashing forehands, with a huge contribution from his defence and mental toughness. The 24-year-old kept pounding his forehand with arguably more conviction than at any other moment in his career, taking advantage of every opportunity to dictate points from that wing.

Tsitsipas overcame difficulty in the opening set, as he twice had breaks of serve only to have Khachanov tie the score right after on each occasion. Tsitsipas rebounded and was the more steady player at critical times, seizing control of the match with a one-sided set finish despite getting flagged for repeated time violations and a foot fault as the set progressed toward a tie-break.

In the final three sets, the third seed only faced one break point, crucially when Khachanov broke at 30/15 as Tsitsipas tightened his grip to serve out the match.

After saving three straight Khachanov overheads late in set two, Tsitsipas used the decisive point of the match to move up to 15/40 in the ninth game. He then won a 22-ball rally with a forehand winner. He then completed the break and served the set to a perfect score.

Tsitsipas started set three by breaking in the third game, but despite forcing a deuce in his next two return games, he could not increase his lead. As Khachanov stretched the match, that came back to bother him, but the Greek made no mistakes in the fourth set and won on his fourth match point.

After three previous semi-final losses at what he refers to tennis as his "home Slam," the Greek is through to his second Grand Slam final and his first in Melbourne.

In his 24th Grand Slam appearance, Khachanov was attempting to make it to his first Grand Slam final. After making it to the Slam semifinals for the first time at the 2022 US Open, the 26-year-old finished in the top two at two consecutive majors.