Only Stefanos Tsitsipas stands in his way after the Serb
romped past unseeded American Tommy Paul 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 on Rod Laver Arena in
Melbourne.
Another title on Sunday will move Djokovic alongside Rafael
Nadal with 22 Slam wins and see the 35-year-old return to world number one for
the first time since last June.
Greek third seed Tsitsipas, who ground past Russian 18th
seed Karen Khachanov in four sets in the other semi-final, can also become the
top-ranked player should he lift the trophy.
Djokovic played without father Srdjan courtside after he was
filmed posing with a man holding a Russian flag featuring Vladimir Putin's face
following his son's quarter-final win.
It sparked a backlash from Ukraine and led to calls for
Djokovic's father to be banned from the tournament.
Djokovic said after his match that the incident had been
"misinterpreted", that his family was against war and he hoped to
have his father back in his box for Sunday's final.
"It has got to me, of course," he said of the
controversy swirling around his father.
"You have to find a way just to kind of accept, let it
go, just not allow it to consume your day or turn your state of mind into
something that you don't want, especially before semi-finals or finals of a
Grand Slam."
His ruthless win extended Djokovic's unbeaten streak at the
Australian Open to 27 matches to claim sole ownership of the Open-era record at
Melbourne Park ahead of Andre Agassi.
Experience tells
The Serbian fourth seed, a hot favourite, attacked Paul's
serve straight away for an early break, then broke again when the 35th-ranked
American fired a forehand long to race 5-1 in front.
A run-in with the umpire over using his towel between points
seemed to rattle Djokovic and he was broken twice in a row as Paul came surging
back to 5-5.
Djokovic regrouped to hold serve and break again and take
the set in 59 minutes.
After that wobble, it was all business, despite clutching
his strapped hamstring several times, romping through the next two sets with
minimal resistance in a show of force.
"I'm really thankful that I have enough gas in my legs
to be able to play at this level on one of the biggest tennis courts in the
world," said Djokovic, who is now 11-0 for the season and into a 33rd
Grand Slam final.
"I know what's expected of me, I've been in this
situation so many times in my career. Experience helps also," he added of
being in yet another final.
He has won all nine of his Melbourne finals.
Tsitsipas rolls on
Djokovic will meet Tsitsipas next after the impressive Greek
battled into his first Australian final and only second at a Grand Slam.
In the previous one, at Roland Garros in 2021, he fell to
Djokovic in five sets after holding a 2-0 lead.
At 24, Tsitsipas is the youngest man to reach the Melbourne
final since a 23-year-old Djokovic in 2011.
"I dreamed as a kid to maybe one day get to play in
this court against the best players in the world," said Tsitsipas, after
defeating Khachanov 7-6 (7/2), 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3.
The Greek, also unbeaten this season with a 10-0 record,
added: "I'm extremely happy that I'm in the final now and let's see what
happens."
Tsitsipas has thrived in Melbourne throughout his career
after bursting on the scene at the 2019 event as a 20-year-old when he
dethroned defending champion Roger Federer in the last 16.
He went on to reach the semi-finals that year and again in
2021 and 2022.
He came into his clash with Khachanov brimming with
confidence and chasing a first major title.
Despite failing to get over the line when serving for the
match at 5-4 in the third set, then with two match points in the tiebreak, he
kept his cool to secure the win and a date with Djokovic.