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It's Djokovic vs Tsitsipas at Australian Open 2023 final; who will be crowned new World No.1?

The World No.1 crown will be up for grabs when nine-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic faces Stefanos Tsitsipas at this year's final in Melbourne on Sunday.

tennis Its Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas at Australian Open 2023 final; who will be crowned new World No.1 snt
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First Published Jan 27, 2023, 4:36 PM IST

The stage is set for a mouth-watering clash between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas, with the World No.1 crown up for grabs at the Australian Open 2023 grand finale on Sunday.

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

After overcoming a slow start to beat America's Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 in the Australian Open semi-finals on Friday at Melbourne Park, Djokovic is just one victory away from capturing a record-extending 10th championship in Melbourne.

During his first tour-level encounter with the American, the Serbian occasionally struggled to perform at his peak, but it did not affect his renowned razor-sharp returns.

Despite not performing at the same level as in his previous two matches against Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev, Djokovic seemed at ease for the entire encounter against Paul. The lone exception came in the first set when Paul capitalised on a barrage of errant groundstrokes from the Serbian to overcome a double-break disadvantage and tie the match at 5-5.

Nevertheless, despite making 24 unforced errors in the first set, Djokovic recovered to win it. His crisp groundstrokes helped him grab a crucial break in the 12th game. He maintained his lead throughout the second and third sets, winning the first four games in each to prevent his less skilled opponent from getting comfortable.

In the end, Djokovic converted seven of 11 break points to move within one victory of Rafael Nadal's record of 22 major championships, despite squandering four consecutive games from 5-1 to get Paul back into the first set on Rod Laver Arena.

Djokovic’s two-hour, 20-minute win set a championship match clash against Tsitsipas, who earlier defeated Karen Khachanov 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3.

Sunday’s final at Melbourne Park will also be a straight shootout for the World No.1 crown, with the winner set to leapfrog Carlos Alcaraz into top spot on Monday.

Also read: 'Ubuntu': What does the African word Tsitsipas signed after storming into Australian Open 2023 final mean?

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