Novak Djokovic spices up dramatic day

MELBOURNE, January 27

Novak Djokovic shrugged off controversy involving his father to reach a record-extending 10th Australian Open final today and set up a blockbuster decider with Greek trailblazer Stefanos Tsitsipas and a battle for the world No. 1 ranking.

Nine-time champion Djokovic maintained his perfect semifinals record at Melbourne Park with a 7-5 6-1 6-2 win over outgunned American Tommy Paul at Rod Laver Arena, where his father Srdjan was a conspicuous absentee.

Earlier on centre court, Tsitsipas saw off Russian 18th seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(2) 6-4 6-7(6) 6-3 to become the first Greek to reach the title match in a city boasting the biggest Greek population outside the southern European nation.

Srdjan Djokovic created a distraction for his son ahead of the match after a video emerged showing him with fans holding Russian flags, which were banned at Melbourne Park early in the tournament.

Amid calls from the Ukraine embassy and media pundits for Djokovic Sr to be banned from the tournament, he declined to attend the semifinal, saying he wanted to avoid “disruption” for his son.

Djokovic defended his father, saying he had been “misused” by Russian fans and that media had misinterpreted the video as a show of support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. — Reuters

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