With a victory over Tommy Paul, nine-time champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the Australian Open championship match against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 35-year-old Serbian Djokovic recovered from a shaky start to beat the American 7-5 6-1 6-2.
After defeating Russian Karen Khachanov, Tsitsipas, 24, now has a second chance to win his first Grand Slam championship.
Khachanov was defeated 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 6-7 (6-8) 6-3 by third-seeded Greek Tsitsipas.
After overcoming the 18th seed Khachanov and saving two match points in the third set tie-break, Tsitsipas secured his spot in Sunday’s championship match.
In what turned out to be the decisive game, another tight forehand saw a third opportunity slip away before Tsitsipas gathered his composure to convert his fourth when Khachanov batted long on a first serve.
Tsitsipas gets the chance to exact revenge on Djokovic for the loss he suffered in the 2021 French Open final as he plays in the Australian Open championship match for the first time.
To win the trophy, he must defeat Djokovic at Melbourne Park for the first time since 2018.
Rafael Nadal has won 22 major men’s titles, while Djokovic, who defeated Paul to create a new record of 27 straight victories in the men’s singles here, is hoping for a record-extending 10th triumph that would match that total.
The victor will also take over as the new world champion.
Djokovic overcomes drama for another commanding victory.
Djokovic had breezed through the earlier rounds without any big problems, and after a few days in which his father Srdjan made news for posing with Vladimir Putin supporters, it appeared that there would be little fuss on the court when he faced Paul.
The Serb wants to play as little on the court as possible in order to lessen the effects of a hamstring ailment that has affected him throughout the tournament.
In his first appearance in a major semi-final, Paul appeared to be headed for an even speedier defeat after he destroyed Australian hopeful Alex de Minaur and Russian fifth seed Andrey Rublev in little more than two hours.
Djokovic had a 5-1 lead in the first set, but it took him an additional 30 minutes to secure the edge.
Djokovic, who was serving for the set, allowed a dispute with umpire Damien Dumusois about the Frenchman starting the 25-second shot clock while he was still wearing his towel to stall his progress.
A change in momentum as indicated by the exchange. Only three of the following 16 points were won by Djokovic as Paul rallied to tie the score at 5-5.
But at the crunch time at the conclusion of the set, the former world number one regained his composure to break again.
After cheering the audience and regaining his steely focus, Djokovic broke twice in each of the final two sets to win the match after two hours and twenty minutes.
In Melbourne, Tsistipas feels at home.
Tsitsipas has long seemed destined for success at the Australian Open, a tournament featuring a hard-court surface on which he excels, and in a city where he enjoys the warm support of its sizable Greek population.
The tall youth made his presence known thereby defeating the reigning champion Roger Federer in the fourth round of 2019. However, a riveting run came to an end when he was routed by Rafael Nadal in his first semi-final appearance, ending his impressive run.
Both in 2021 and 2022, longtime adversary Daniil Medvedev dashed his hopes at the last-four stage, but this time it was another Russian, the formidable Khachanov, who stood in his way.
Tsitsipas began confidently against a competitor whom he had defeated in all five of their prior meetings, backed by a boisterous crowd that waved Greek flags after nearly all of his winning points.
The world number four went up two sets as Khachanov was unable to hold off Tsitsipas’ thumping groundstrokes and explosive athleticism.
Few people on Rod Laver Arena anticipated anything other than a straight-set victory when Tsitsipas broke early in the third set and raced to a 5-4 lead, leaving him serving for the match.
Khachanov broke loose to extend the match as Tsitsipas’ nerves took hold and he started to appear uneasy with his groundstrokes.
“Being from a little nation like Greece, I’m really appreciative to have support like this.
I’m very thrilled to be in the final today and we’ll see what happens because I never expected I would be treated so kindly here.