Novak Djokovic said before the semi-finals that his bid for the Australian Open was being fuelled by his deportation from the country last year.

“I don’t think that I lack determination,” Djokovic said. “I always try to give my best, particularly in Grand Slams, because at this stage of my career those are the tournaments that count the most, of course.

“But you could say that there is something extra this year, yeah. You could say because of the injury, what happened last year. I just wanted to really do well.

“So far I have a perfect score in Australian hard courts, in Adelaide and here. I’ve been playing better and better. I couldn’t ask for a better situation to be in at the moment.”

Novak Djokovic ahead of the Australian Open final: “This is exactly what I’ve imagined and hoped that will happen when I came to Australia, with intention to be in a position to fight for another Australian Open trophy.

“I think that the experience of being in this particular situation and circumstances before helps. I think also the fact that I never lost the Australian Open finals definitely serves as a great confidence booster prior to Sunday. But, of course, still the job needs to be done on the court.

I’m going to play against Tsitsipas, who is in a great shape, great form, has been playing some of his best tennis. I’m sure that he’s going to be very motivated to win his first Grand Slam title.

“I know his game pretty well. He knows my game well. We played several times in different surfaces. We played in one Grand Slam finals, was on clay, though, in Roland Garros some years ago.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas on playing the World No 1 position in the Australian Open final: “I remember watching it on TV saying to myself, I want to be there one day myself. I want to recreate that feeling for me. I knew that’s a very long journey to get there.

“There are certain steps you have to take to give yourself the chance to be competing for something like this. But I very much believed it. I very much believed it. First of all, it’s your ego that speaks. You either have it or not, you know? As a kid, I was very confident.

“Thank God I was good in my country. Starting from that, I knew if I’m able to get out of my country and compete in other countries, European leagues, European tours, I proved myself over and over again that I’m actually good. I did finish as a junior No. 1. Now I want to do it in the men’s side, in the men’s professional tennis.”

Aryna Sabalenka’s first grand slam final began with a double fault. Her first Championship point, too, was a double fault. But in between, Sabalenka produced a near faultless display of the improvements she has made to her game, as the 24-year-old battled from a set down to defeat Elena Rybakina in a thrilling Australian Open final. Sabalenka’s first grand slam title required three more Championship points to close it out. There, as she had done so impressively since falling behind, Sabalenka kept her cool to prevail in what was an absorbing contest.

In almost two and a half hours on Rod Laver Arena, Sabalenka’s newly-found mental toughness was put under the fiercest of examinations by the Wimbledon champion. In another time, Sabalenka may well have crumbled, but her response was controlled and measured as she came through to win the women’s final.

As Novak Djokovic continued to move through the distractions, history now awaits in the Australian Open final. The Serbian is into his 10th in Melbourne and stands on the verge of joining Rafael Nadal on 22nd grand slam titles after shaking off an uncertain start and some new controversy to motor past Tommy Paul in straight sets in the semi-finals. A “crisis” midway through the first set was one of a few uncomfortable moments the 35-year-old has encountered on his return to Australia, the latest the emergence of a video of his father Srdjan posing with Vladimir Putin supporters on Wednesday night.

After last year’s deportation and this year’s hamstring injury, it was another obstacle for Djokovic to face after his smooth progress past Alex De Minaur and Andrey Rublev in the previous rounds. Srdjan, who said he was unwittingly caught up in the pro-Russian demonstration, was absent from his box and in the opening stages against Paul, Djokovic cut a frustrated and irritated figure. Edgy and wide-eyed, Djokovic blew a 5-1 lead in the first set among an avalanche of unforced errors, offering Paul a leg-up into what was the first grand slam semi-final of the 25-year-old’s career.

“It got to me,” Djokovic admitted. “I was struggling physically and emotionally. I guess at the final stages of a slam, you can expect to have one or two or three crises. The less the better. But I did have one.” It would have been an encouraging sight for Stefanos Tsitsipas, the in-form and confident Greek who awaits in Sunday’s final.

What followed, however, was a further example of why Djokovic maintains an unbeaten record in Australian Open semi-final, and underlined the task facing Tsitsipas today.

Novak Djokovic on his father: “As my father put in a statement, we are against the war, we never will support any violence or any war. We know how devastating that is for the family, for people in any country that is going through the war.

“There was no intention. It can happen. It can happen to many people, what happened to him. He was passing through, made a photo, it has escalated.

“He was misused in this situation by this group of people. That’s what happened. I can’t be angry with him or upset because I can say it was not his fault. He went out to celebrate with my fans, and that’s it. That’s all that happened.

“After that, of course he felt bad because of me and he knew how that’s going to reflect on me, the whole media pressure and everything that has happened in the last 24 hours, 48 hours.”

Djokovic’s father did not attend his son’s semi-final match against Tommy Paul as he did not want to be a “disruption” and the Serbian explained after the match that the images were a “misinterpretation” of what happened.

Djokovic said his father unknowingly stopped to greet the pro-Russian demonstrators, thinking they were holding Serbian flags. The 35-year-old also refuted allegations that his father had said “Long live Russia” when leaving the group, insisting the phrase had been mistranslated.

If you could had to bet your life on a tennis player, you would choose Djokovic at the Australian Open. After nine wins in a row in Melbourne finals he looks certain to win a 10th. Tsitsipas will give him his best test yet this year, and may even take a set, but it’s hard to see how anyone could beat Djokovic over five on this form. Djokovic wins in four

What are the odds?

Djokovic: 2/9

Tsitsipas: 39/10

The Australian Open men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will start from 8:30am GMT on Sunday 29 January.

You can watch the Australian Open live on Eurosport in the UK. The action will be broadcast on Eurosport’s TV channels, or fans can tune into Discovery+ to stream the tournament, where an Entertainment & Sport pass is available for either £6.99/month or £59.99/year.

Sky has also announced that starting today, Discovery+ will be available at no extra cost for Sky customers, including for Sky Glass and Sky Stream customers.

If you’re not already a Sky customer, you can get a Sky Stream box, which comes with Sky TV and a Netflix basic plan. The device is currently discounted in Sky’s winter sale (was £26 per month, now £24 per month, Sky.com). This is Sky’s new device, and doesn’t require a satellite dish as it streams Sky directly over wifi.

Hello and welcome to live coverage Australian Open men’s final as Novak Djokovic plays Stefanos Tsitsipas with tennis history on the line in Melbourne. Djokovic is aiming to join Rafael Nadal on a men’s record 22 grand slam titles, with what would be his 10th Australian Open victory. The Serbian was deported from Australia 12 months ago amid a political storm over his exemption for the Covid vaccine, but is now a win away from sealing a triumphant and historic return.

Tsitsipas, who has reached his first Australian Open final, faces one of the toughest tasks in sport as the Greek looks to end Djokovic’s winning streak in Melbourne. The 35-year-old has won his last 27 matches at the Australian Open and has won all nine of the finals he has played at the Rod Laver Arena. Tsitsipas’ previous grand slam final appearance came at the 2021 French Open, where Djokovic fought from two sets down to win the title.