Novak Djokovic overcomes wobble to cruise into 10th Australian Open final

As Novak Djokovic continues to move on from the distractions, history awaits in the Australian Open final. The Serbian is through to his 10th in Melbourne and stands on the verge of joining Rafael Nadal on 22nd grand slam titles after shaking off an uncertain start to motor past Tommy Paul in straight-sets. A wobble midway through the first set was one of the few uncomfortable moments the 35-year-old has encountered on his return to Australia, which was perhaps an impact of his father Srdjan being filmed posing with Vladimir Putin supporters on Wednesday.

After overcoming a hamstring injury and his smooth progress past Alex De Minaur and Andrey Rublev, it was a rare obstacle for Djokovic to face. Srdjan, who said he was unwittingly caught up in the pro-Russian demonstration, was absent from his box and in the opening stages against Paul, Djokovic cut a frustrated and irritated figure. Edgy and wide-eyed. Djokovic blew a 5-1 lead in the first set among an avalanche of unforced errors, offering Paul a leg-up into what was the first grand slam semi-final of the 25-year-old’s career.

It would have been an encouraging sight for Stefanos Tsitsipas, the in-form and confident Greek who awaits in Sunday’s final, but what followed was a further example of why beating Djokovic on the Rod Laver Arena is the toughest task in tennis. From 5-5 in the first set, Djokovic tightened his game and returned to his steely best. He rattled off 12 games out of the next 13 to leave Paul in the dust, finding his unerring serves and destructive winners. The American was not playing badly but Djokovic’s opponents are often at their most vulnerable when they are offered a glimmer of hope, as the Serbian closed his fist on the match.

It underlined the challenge facing Tsitsipas, in what will be a battle not just for the first grand slam of the year but also the No 1 spot in the rankings. Djokovic has now won 27 matches in a row at Melbourne Park. He has never lost an Australian Open final - an unbelievable statistic - and he has returned this year fuelled by the pain of his deportation from the country 12 months ago. Even after being dragged into further controversy in Melbourne, with his father pictured alongside a flag of Putin and next to a man who was publicly supporting Russia’s war in Ukraine, Djokovic has let his tennis do the talking. That said, a swift condemnation of the pro-Russian crowd will be needed too off the court.

On it, he looked unbeatable once he loosened his wrists but Djokovic was slow to warm up and the signs of an awkward opening were clear from the opening exchanges. Djokovic was dragged into a lengthy service game to start the match as he made an early double fault and a couple of errors on routine backhands from the baseline. It offered Paul two immediate chances to break the Djokovic serve and when the American failed to take them and Djokovic broke his serve in the next game it seemed as if his opportunity had already disappeared.

Djokovic cruised into a 5-1 lead as Paul struggled to adjust to the depth and power of the baseline rallies. It was his first career meeting with Djokovic, on what was his first grand slam semi-final, but he would have taken great encouragement from the early signs of irritation from Djokovic. The errors that had given Paul early break points continued even while the scoreboard was lop-sided. Djokovic cut a frustrated look at his box and was involved in an argument with the umpire over the time he was taking between serves.

It was an unnecessary distraction, and only added to the errors. As Djokovic’s cool slipped, Paul took full advantage. The American won four games in a row, growing in confidence the closer he got to parity on the scoreboard. He was holding his own from the baseline and took the second consecutive break after winning a 30-shot rally.

At 5-5, Djokovic steadied with a hold to love and from there tightened his game to draw the mistakes from Paul. When he broke to take the set 7-5, Djokovic pointed to his ear. The nine-time champion was highlighting his response to break out of his funk, but the stats told their own story: 12 winners to 24 unforced errors, more in one set than he made in the entire match against Rublev in the quarter-finals.

In a blink of an eye, Djokovic returned to a 5-1 lead in the second set but this time offered Paul no encouragement. With his serve restored and groundstrokes back to being aimed confidently for the lines, Djokovic only coughed up a miserly six unforced errors and once again forced Paul to battle for every point. It led to a run of seven games in a row as Djokovic improved every element of his game. The third set was just as convincing and on this latest evidence, he will take some stopping in Sunday’s final.