Australian Open: Stefanos Tsitsipas beats Karen Khachanov and reaches the final in search of his first Grand Slam

Stephen Tsitsipas4th in the ATP rankings, he managed this Friday to advance to his first final in Australian Open after beating the Russian in a close match Karen Khachanova (20th) for 7-6 (2), 6-4, 6-7 (8) and 6-3.

Looking for win his first Grand Slam and become number one in the worldToday in the hands of Carlos Alcaraz, out of the tournament due to injury, the Greek will face it in the final challenge against the winner of the match between the Serbian Novak Djokovic (5th) and the American tomi paolo (35°).

Very solid throughout his career in Melbourne, Tsitsipas had to simmer the match against an opponent who had already reached the semifinals of the US Open, but against whom he had won his previous five matches.

Without finding his best serve and penalized for fouls for overtime or for stepping on the line while serving, the Greek had a hard time turning the match in his favor and even had to rally in a fourth set after wasting two matches point. However, he managed to keep the game uneventful.

At 24, the Greek will seek his first Grand Slam on Sunday, after the Roland Garros final he lost to Djokovic in 2021. “It’s a childhood dream to reach that number one“He was excited at the Rod Laver Arena.

And he concluded: “These are the moments I’ve worked hard for, to play finals like this, finals that have a greater meaning. Not just a final, but a Grand Slam final.”

I feel lucky to be able to play tennis at this level. Maria (Sakkari) and I did a great job because it’s not easy to come from a small country like Greece. I am very grateful to have received this support, she concluded referring to an always unconditional audience with Tsitsipas, thanks to the large Greek community living in Melbourne.

Now he just expects a rival in the final. In case of facing the North American, history favors him: he has beaten him the three times he has played. The picture with Djokovic is different: the Greek accumulates ten defeats and just two victories (Masters 1000 of Canada 2018 and Shanghai 2019).

With information from AFP.