Australian Open day 12 wrap: Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas set popcorn final

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Stefanos Tsitsipas

Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will do battle on Sunday for the Australian Open title and world number one ranking.

Tsitsipas reached his first final in Melbourne by beating Karen Khachanov while Djokovic will aim to make it a perfect 10 in finals here after seeing off Tommy Paul.

Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid won their fourth successive Australian Open title in men’s wheelchair doubles.

Picture of the day

Karen Khachanov, pictured, considers smashing his racket during his loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas (Ng Han Guan/AP)

Shot of the day

Mirza bids farewell

Indian trailblazer Sania Mirza ended her final grand slam by finishing as runner-up in the mixed doubles with Rohan Bopanna to Brazilian duo Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos. “I think that if I had to picture the dream scenario in my head how I want to go out, it would be on one of the biggest arenas in the world,” she said. “Of course I would win in that dream.”

Tsitsipas is in dreamland

Stefanos Tsitsipas said he was living the dream after reaching the Australian Open final Friday.

Tsitsipas can top the world rankings if he wins his first Grand Slam crown on Sunday.

“I dreamed as a kid to maybe one day get to play in this court against the best players in the world,” Tsitsipas told a sunny Rod Laver Arena after winning an Australian Open semi-final at the fourth attempt.

“So I’m happy with the fight I put out there today. I feel blessed, blessed that I’m able to play tennis at this level.

“I’ve been wanting for many years now to put Greek tennis on the map.”

Gauff heading home

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A post shared by Coco Gauff (@cocogauff)

Coco Gauff’s bid to put her singles disappointment behind her by lifting the doubles title with Jessica Pegula ended with a semi-final defeat by Japanese pair Shuko Aoyama and Ena Shibahara.

Australian Open results

Results from Day 12 of the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Melbourne Park on Friday:

Men’s

Semi-finals

Novak Djokovic (SRB x4) bt Tommy Paul (USA) 7-5, 6-1, 6-2

Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE x3) bt Karen Khachanov (RUS x18) 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3

Fognini’s smashing bathroom

Who’s up next?

The women’s title will be decided on Saturday when Elena Rybakina takes on Aryna Sabalenka. Sabalenka will be chasing a maiden grand-slam title in her first final while Rybakina is aiming to hold two grand-slam trophies in a year following her success at Wimbledon. Hewett bids to make it a double success with his first wheelchair singles title in Melbourne when he faces Japan’s Tokito Oda.

READ MORE: Novak Djokovic hopes to draw a line under Russian flag controversy

Novak Djokovic Stefanos Tsitsipas

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