After overcoming a shaky start to defeat Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 on Friday in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park, Novak Djokovic is poised to win his record-extending 10th Australian Open title.
During his first tour-level encounter with the American, the Serbian occasionally struggled to perform at his peak, but it did not affect his renowned razor-sharp returns. On Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic dropped four consecutive games from a 5-1 lead to allow Paul back into the first set, but he ultimately converted seven of 11 break points to get within one victory of Rafael Nadal's record of 22 major titles.
Following his two-hour, 20-minute victory, Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in the title match. Tsitsipas previously defeated Karen Khachanov 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3. The winner will overtake Carlos Alcaraz to the top slot on Monday if they prevail in Sunday's final, which will also be a straight shootout for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.