Greece’s third seed Tsitsipas, who crashed out three times in the semi-finals at Melbourne Park, will face favorites Novak Djokovic or Tommy Paul for the title.
The 2021 French Open runner-up forced an error on Khachanov’s forehand to grab an early break to immediately drop his serve.
A sizzling semi-final ends in Greek glory 🇬🇷 @steftsitsipas overcomes a valiant Karen Khachanov to reach his first… https://t.co/CXBciqKORH
— #AusOpen (@AusOpen) 1674803793000
The pair traded breaks again in a see-saw first set, but Tsitsipas came to life in the tiebreak and took the lead in the match before going nose-to-edge in the following set when Khachanov’s level dropped.
Although he was rocked by three foot faults and two time violations on serve, Tsitsipas looked more at ease after winning the second set.
TSITSIPAS 🇬🇷 #AO2023 FINALIST @steftsitsipas • #AusOpen https://t.co/eBGbVmimdu
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The 24-year-old beat Khachanov for a 2-1 lead in the third, but the Russian bravely equalized at 5-5 before going to a tiebreaker.
Tsitsipas hit two superb upside-down forehands to draw roars from the crowd but wasted two match points and allowed Khachanov to take the set.
The Greek regrouped in the fourth set to lead 3-0 and finished the match in style to claim a place in his second Grand Slam final.
