Australian Open 2021

Djokovic feeling 'the best' for final

MELBOURNE • Novak Djokovic has declared himself fighting fit and peaking in time for Sunday's Australian Open final after ending the fairy-tale run of Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev with his "best match" of the Grand Slam.

The world No. 1 and defending champion yesterday eased into his ninth decider at Melbourne Park with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win under the lights at Rod Laver Arena and will battle either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Daniil Medvedev for the title.

The Serb's tournament appeared on a knife edge when he suffered an abdominal injury during his third-round match against Taylor Fritz.

But he has put that aside and will have two days off to recover before the final.

"This is the best I felt during the entire tournament," he told tennis great Jim Courier on court after hitting 30 winners and 17 aces.

"Felt great, I could swing through the ball, no pain, just best match so far, and it came at the right time and I'm thrilled to feel this way.

"Recovery is priority right now. I'm feeling the ball well, I'm playing well, I had enough match play, enough practice, so right now it's just gathering the necessary energy for the most important match."

Djokovic, 33, has never failed to win the tournament after making the semi-finals and he will be heavily favoured to claim a record-extending ninth title at his favourite Slam on Sunday.

While Karatsev would have been regarded one of Djokovic's more unlikely semi-final opponents, the world No. 114 put up a decent show as fans returned to Melbourne Park following a five-day lockdown.

The 27-year-old broke the Serb twice in the match and came back from 5-1 down in the second set to briefly rattle his illustrious opponent.

On Karatsev, who reached the main draw of a Major for the first time after failing to qualify at nine previous Slams and is poised to move into the top 50 in the rankings, the 17-time Slam champion was full of respect for his incredible run.

"We need to give him a hand. Huge congratulations to him," Djokovic said. "On his debut, he reached semi-finals, I don't think it's ever happened in the history of tennis, so well done to him."

While the Serb will be the favourite in the showpiece match, Tsitsipas or Medvedev will fancy their chances of a maiden Slam.

Both have losing records against Djokovic - 4-2 and 4-3 in head-to-head clashes respectively - but either will carry momentum into Sunday and age is also on their side.

ATP Tour Finals champion Medvedev, 25, is on a tour-leading 19-match winning run, while Tsitsipas, 22, on Wednesday became just the second man to come back from two sets down to beat 20-time Slam winner Rafael Nadal at a Major.

Both players, however, will have to settle a simmering feud in order to book their slot against Djokovic.

A war of words erupted after their 2019 clash in Shanghai when Tsitsipas lashed out at the Russian's "boring" style of play. Their frosty relationship has persisted, but the Greek no longer considers Medvedev's penchant for methodical tennis dull.

"(He) is going to be a difficult task. He's in very good shape, playing good tennis, playing accurate, simple," said world No. 6 Tsitsipas.

"Might have said in the past that he plays boring, but I don't really think he plays boring. He just plays extremely smart."

Medvedev has a 5-1 advantage from their past meetings but the world No. 4 is just aware of the danger Tsitsipas presents.

"Stefanos is an amazing player, big serve, great volley," he said. "Tough to play."

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on February 19, 2021, with the headline Djokovic feeling 'the best' for final. Subscribe