Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka wins Australian Open title
Follow live updates from the 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.
Djokovic was caught up in fresh controversy earlier this week when his father was filmed with supporters of Vladimir Putin at Melbourne Park. Srdjan Djokovic, who missed his son’s semi-final win over Tommy Paul on Wednesday, has insisted he had unwittingly greeted the pro-Russian demonstrators. Djokovic said that his father did not intend to pose for photos with the group and explained he had mistaken them for Serbian fans.
Follow live scores and updates from the Australian Open men’s final, below:
Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
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.”
Jamie Braidwood29 January 2023 07:15
Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
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.
Jamie Braidwood29 January 2023 07:12
Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
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
Jamie Braidwood29 January 2023 07:06
Australian Open 2023: Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
The Australian Open men’s final between Novak Djokovic and Stefanos Tsitsipas will start from 8:30am GMT on Sunday 29 January.
How to watch the Australian Open 2023
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.
Jamie Braidwood29 January 2023 07:03
Good morning
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.
Jamie Braidwood29 January 2023 07:02