13:00 (IST)
Hello and welcome to Firstpost's coverage of the Australian Open men's singles final!
Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic finds himself up against fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem, who is set to play his first-ever final at Melbourne Park. Djokovic made his way into the final with a comprehensive straight-sets win over Swiss maestro Roger Federer, whilst Thiem got the better of highly-rated Alexander Zverev to book his berth in the finale. Stay tuned for the latest updates as we discuss the players, the strategies they might employ, and delve into some stats in the build-up to what is sure to be a thrilling contest.
Preview: Dominic Thiem knows what it's like to make it all the way through the rigours of a half-dozen best-of-five-set matches across two weeks in order to reach a Grand Slam final — only to run into that particular tournament's greatest champion.
It's happening to Thiem at the Australian Open, where he will face defending champion Novak Djokovic for the title on Sunday.
Just like it happened to Thiem at the French Open, where he was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal each of the past two years.
Djokovic already owns a record seven trophies from the hard courts of Melbourne Park. So far, he is a combined 15-0 in semi-finals and finals in Rod Laver Arena.
"It's absolutely his comfort zone here," Thiem said.
Nadal has been even more prolific on the red clay of Roland Garros, going 24-0 in the last two rounds en route to his 12 championships there.
Nadal is known as the "King of Clay," so Thiem joked after beating No 7 seed Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4) in the semi-finals Friday night that Djokovic is the "King of Australia," then added: "I'm always facing the kings of a certain Grand Slam in the final."
Also at stake for Djokovic on Sunday will be a 17th Grand Slam trophy overall, which would push him closer to the two men he is chasing: Nadal with 19, and record-holder Roger Federer with 20.
In addition to his haul from here, Djokovic's major championship collection already includes five from Wimbledon, three at the US Open and one from the French Open.
Djokovic won his semi-final against Federer in straight sets Thursday night, so he gets an extra day of rest before facing Thiem.
With inputs from AP.
from Firstpost Sports Latest News https://ift.tt/36R1VgT
No comments:
Post a Comment