Unstoppable Novak Djokovic storms into his TENTH Australian Open final with a straight-sets victory over Tommy Paul as he blocks ANOTHER row with the umpire and his father staying away due to his Russian antics to win
Occasionally agitated and rarely at best, Novak Djokovic nevertheless drove to the final of the Australian Open to meet Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The nine-time champion defeated American outsider Tommy Paul 7-5 6-1 6-2 in two hours and 21 minutes, while shuffling off-stage events.
Djokovic’s father had in the late afternoon announced that he will not come after the controversy over his public association with Russian sympathizers on Wednesday.
Novak Djokovic reached the final of the Australian Open on Friday morning
The fallout seemed to have tarnished his standing with the Rod Laver Arena crowd, who were sympathetic to Paul despite being a relatively obscure player with no apparent following or appeal.
The Serb is in a different class than him and it seemed that way in the first set until Djokovic got involved in a pointless argument with umpire Damien Dumusois about when the shot clock should be activated.
A 5-1 lead became 5-5 before Djokovic embarked on a seven match tear which highlighted the gap in quality between himself and the world No. 35.
Tommy Paul had no answers for the Serb, who won 7-5 6-1 6-2 in just over two hours
The Serb taunted the crowd after being loudly booed for winning the first set
The 21-time Grand Slam winner also had a frosty conversation with the chair umpire
When he won the first set he walked back to his seat as he pricked up his ear, eliciting boos from the packed audience.
His superiority calmed the wider assembly, if not the noisy knots of his flag-waving hardcore support.
In Tsitsipas he will meet his strongest opponent by far, with the added element of the Greek being hugely popular in Melbourne due to his heritage.
The number four in the world had earlier continued in four physical sets against the increasingly formidable Russian Karen Khachanov7-6 6-4 6-7 6-3, and will be a different proposition than Paul.