Stefanos Tsitsipas is just one win away from a breakthrough grand slam title after booking a spot in the Australian Open final for the first time with a hard-fought triumph over Karen Khachanov.
Third seed Tsitsipas prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 in Friday’s semi-final at Rod Laver Arena, extending his 2023 winning streak to 10 matches as his Australian coach Mark Philippoussis watched on from the Greek star’s box.
It was a case of fourth time lucky for Tsitsipas, who fell at the semi-final hurdle in three of his previous four appearances at what he regards as his ‘home’ major in Melbourne.
It was not all smooth sailing for Tsitsipas, who was twice up a break in the first set before being pegged back and sent to a tiebreaker.
The world No.4 was also called for foot faults several times during the first two sets as he repeatedly stepped across the centre service line.
The succession of calls clearly confused Tsitsipas before the chair umpire clarified what the issue was.
Tsitsipas had two match points against the 18th seed in the third set but Khachanov kept his cool and fought back to take the set.
Experience appears to have paid dividends for Tsitsipas with a break in the fourth and final set to secure his sixth – and most important – win in as many career meetings with Khachanov.
Tsitsipas will face either nine-times champion Novak Djokovic or unseeded American Tommy Paul in Sunday’s final and will rise to the No.1 ranking for the first time if he lifts the Norman Brooks Challenge Cup.
It will be Tsitsipas’ first championship decider in Melbourne and second at a major, after he was famously beaten by Djokovic at Roland Garros in 2021 after winning the first two sets.
BIG GREEK HOPE
As the Australian Open reaches its final stage, the rest of Greek talent has thinned out considerably.
29-year-old Despina Papamichail was first to bow out of the tournament.
The world No. 157 started the competition strong, defeating Hungary’s Reka Luca Jani 6-1, 6-0 and winning eight games in a row in the first round of the Women’s qualifiers.
But come the qualifier’s second round she struggled in the face of stiff opposition from Serbia’s Olga Danilovic, with a final result of 3-6, 1-6 the Greek hopeful just couldn’t gain the advantage during the bout.
Melbourne’s Jamie Fourlis entered the competition as a main-draw wildcard, returning to the AO for the first time in five years.
She’d had a resurgent season in the lead up, rising from outside the top 300 to a career-high ranking of world No. 147 with 50 match victories in 2022.
Alas, despite a promising forecast, Fourlis faltered in her first-round match against Czechia’s 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova. Try as she did she couldn’t quite equalise the score in the second set, ending the match 0-6, 4-6.
Nick Kyrgios shocked fans when he announced his last-minute withdrawal from the competition as it was revealed the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up had a cyst growing on his meniscus.
Visibly distressed during the presser in which he gave the announcement, the 27-year-old told reporters the prospect of missing out on this year’s tournament left him devastated.
Kyrgios and his physio Will Maher explained caution was the better part of valour in light of the situation, his departure from the comp a necessary sacrifice to ensure his career continues without health hiccups.
Thanasi Kokkinakis was left reeling after inclement weather caused a number of rain-delayed matches to bank up and take precedence in the match schedule.
The South Australian Greek didn’t take to the court against opponent Andy Murray until 10:20pm. The match, which lasted until 4:05am the following morning went on for a staggering five hours and 45 minutes.
Kokkinakis who looked poised to secure Australia a third Men’s victory for the day opening with two powerful sets, suffered defeat at the hands of the Scotsman for a final result of 4-6, 6-7 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 7-5.
A gut-wrenching result, the second-round loss leaves him scrambling to make the main draw of the season’s remaining three grand slam events; the desperate race against the clock now on to lift his ranking before the French Open in May.
Crowd favourite Maria Sakkari was knocked out of the Open after a neck-and-neck battle against China’s Zhu Lin, who snatched the match out from under Sakkari in a third-round upset.
7-6 (7-3), 1-6, 6-4 was the final score as the world No. 87 cut short Sakkari’s quest for the finals. It was a rollercoaster match with twists and turns til the end, Zhu finally serving out the match after more than two and a half hours.
Sakkari’s exit came after her not so safe victory against Russia’s Diana Schnaider who kept the 27-year-old on the back foot for the better part of their second-round contest, perhaps an omen of the defeat to come.
Then, as it stands, the Hellenes have had it… bar one:
Stefanos Tsitsipas, the nation’s last hope for Grand Slam glory.
With AAP
